The First Seven Years
by VesperAgain
Summary: Draco thinks he knows where he stands, but his entire world is about to be blown apart. Hermione thinks she loves Ron, but her thoughts could never reach where she does. Harry thinks he knows his friends, but do his friends know themselves? Starts 7th yr
1. Some Private Thoughts

**Disclaimer:** I dont own anything except the plot. sob sob sob.

**Warning:** Story has a mature content, with scenes of sexual nature, strong language, strong violence, sensitive themes and implied slash. If any of it disturbs you, please don't read.

"Cogatuansermynee!" Ron mumbled through a mouth full of maple syrup-soaked pancakes, doing more than full justice to Mrs. Weasley's efforts by rapidly demolishing his fourth helpings of everything. Hermione would normally have ignored his attempts at holding a conversation with a mouth full to bursting, but this time, she beamed at him, understanding him fully well. She looked across the table at Harry, who was smiling widely at her, and then at Ginny beside her, who hugged her tightly. Not able to sit still any longer, she jumped up, and was immediately surrounded by her friends, who hugged her and proclaimed that they had known it all along- the Head Girl badge belonged to her.

"Thanks guys", she managed to squeak out. As a matter of fact, she had known it in her heart as well…no other seventh year girl in Hogwarts held a record like hers. Top of the year grades in every subject, and an impeccable record as a prefect- she was a normal and obvious choice. She looked at the letter in her hand bearing the Hogwarts crest one more time, and smiled again.

Just then, Mrs. Weasley came bustling in, her arms full of a basket full of fresh laundry, with her peculiar clock balanced rather precariously on top. She took one look at the huddle, and dropped her basket in alarm.

"Oh Merlin", she gasped, "what has happened….who has….where…!" she could not manage to force more words out.

Ginny noticed her mother's condition, and turned to her.

"Calm down, mum! Its nothing serious…please! Hermione has just been made a Head Girl…that's all."

"oh…is that all? I mean, how wonderful! Congratulations, Hermione dear. How nice! I mean to say, first Bill, then Percy, now you! Oh… I just knew it…that is to say…"

"Honestly", Ginny rolled her eyes.

True to character, Mrs. Weasley now had tears in her eyes, though it was difficult to say whether she was crying due to happiness, as she considered Harry and Hermione as family, or because she had suddenly been reminded of Percy. Percy had a fall-out with rest of his family two years back, and had walked out on them to smarm up to Fudge, the minister of magic. Inspite of being proven wrong in his convictions, he had not returned to the family.

"Well", she said, wiping her eyes, "lets have a party tonight. Some people will come over from the Order as well. Lets all celebrate in style. After all, we do have a double celebration at hand now." And then she smiled warmly at Hermione and gave her an affectionate hug. Harry was as good as her son, and if Ron came to his senses on time, then she would have Hermione as a part of her family as well. She knew Ron secretly doted on her, but wished he would pluck up the courage to ask her out soon enough. Hermione was no longer a bushy-haired bookworm with no sense of style. She was now a dainty and confident girl, and carried herself well. If Ron waited too long, she might be snapped up. And what with all the insecurity among people because of you-know-who, she just might not want to wait for long. She might have to speak with Ron, although she hoped she wouldn't have to.

* * *

The evening at number 12, Grimmauld Place wasnot dull and depressing as it usually was. Many people from the Order had turned up to wish Hermione, and to congratulate Fleur as well, who was one month pregnant. She and Bill had gotten married two months ago, and were living at the headquarters as it was near to Bills' place of work. Bill was absent tonight, however, on Dumbledore's orders, and Fleur seemed to lose a bit of her glow because of it. On the bright side, however, she and Mrs. Weasley got on much better now, more so since the latter had found she was going to be a grandmother.

Harry's eyes scanned the room…he hated this place. Eventhough the house now belonged to him, he hated every moment he had to spend here. He could still see Sirius as he was here…moody, irritable, miserable…! How he missed Sirius! And he felt a renewed burst of hatred….at Bellatrix, at Voldemort! He would get them….both of them…and whoever who stood in the way.

Ron's eyes seemed glued to the beaming brunette who stood chatting to Tonks and Ginny near the table. He had realized his feelings for her a bit late…only after Victor Krum and the Yule Ball fiasco in their fourth year…but he still hadn't managed to do anything about it yet. Why didn't he just ask her out…what was stopping him, for Merlin's sake? He shook his head…he had to work up the courage…he had to. Before it was too late.

Hermione smiled up as Lupin came over to join their conversation, slipping his hand around Tonks' waist, who leaned into him. She glanced over at a redhead standing in a corner just as he turned to speak with Harry…and sighed wistfully. She knew he liked her, but when will he confess his feelings to her? Or, will he ever? She shook her head…c'mon Ron! Whats stopping you? Then she turned back to her conversation.

Ginny laughed as Tonks turned herself into an old, wrinkled witch, and looked around to where her brother stood talking with his best friend. She had fancied Harry since she set her eyes on him, and last year, finally, he had realized he liked her as well. They had started dating…but she felt frustrated. Dating Harry was not nearly as much fun as she had hoped it would be. In the beginning, it was. Oh, was it fun! But then, he had started being pre-occupied. He had a world-saving thing, and he couldn't seem to leave it behind long enough. True, this was something she liked about him…but it was getting to her. She felt as though she was competing with Voldemort for a space in his mind. And it wasn't just Voldemort…it was just about everybody. Every single person they came across wanted to be with Harry…wanted a piece of the "Chosen One". Girls fawned over him, boys wanted to be his best buddies, people from ministry wanted him as their poster boy, adults wanted to know him better, children wanted to get close to him, Order wanted his help, Dumbledore wanted to give him private lessons, teachers wanted to help him, deatheaters wanted to capture him, and Voldemort wanted to kill him. It seemed everyone wanted something from him, and her number on his list was getting pushed down. She had tried to appreciate how he handled all this pressure put on him, but it sometimes got very difficult. Like last evening, when they were alone in the library, she had felt so content…being in Harry's arms, being kissed senseless by him, and then suddenly, she didn't quite see it how, she had found herself sitting in an armchair by the fire, alone, with him deep in discussion with Ron and Hermione about horcruxes! She loved Harry more than life itself, but she didn't see where they were heading now. She was now almost jealous of Hermione, who she felt had more of Harry than she did, what with being his best friend of six years. In fact, now she was jealous of everyone who got close to Harry…she must be getting paranoid. Oh well…she turned back and smiled at Hermione.

* * *

Draco Malfoy was bored out of his mind. He stared morosely out of his bedroom window, trying very hard to dispel the feeling of inadequacy and emptiness that seemed to engulf him the moment he let his guard down. He didn't know where his life was heading…and indeed, if it was heading in some direction, should he allow it to head that way!

Who would think that he, Draco Malfoy, the rich, pampered brat, would ever feel anything but confident and sure of himself! And yet, here he was, feeling lost and confused. And feeling that there was so much to life that he had missed out on, and yet not knowing how to get it.

There was the Malfoy Manor itself, that contributed to his feeling of misery and hopelessness. The house he had always known as home resembled more of a haunted house now, eventhough it was still beautiful, crammed with beautiful artifacts and expensive…everything. Yes, everything about his home was expensive. But with his father locked up in Azkaban since the end of his fifth year, and the ministry conducting raids on the manor whenever they felt like it, it felt less of a home and more of a prison.

Draco missed his father. True, Lucius Malfoy could be hard on him at times, but he had also doted on his only son. Draco just had to name a wish, and his father had granted it. When he was five, he had wanted his personal house elf, and had gotten Spiffy on his birthday. When he was nine, he had wanted to see Europe, and he had been treated to a grand tour, culminating in a villa being purchased in his name at Rome. His father knew he had liked the city, so he had given him a house there. He had even gotten the ugly hand of glory that he had taken a fancy to, although he knew his father hadn't thought much of his taste. He had wanted to be a Seeker on his house team, and his father had arranged that. While Draco could never call his father "dad", or go on fishing trips with him, or just rough it out like a boys night in town, he knew his father had always been there for him. He had always made it a point to be closely involved with Draco's school life, from dropping him off at the station to trying to get Hagrid sacked. Draco had lorded it over the other slytherins at school, using his father's name and contacts mercilessly. But now, Draco let out his breath forcefully as he thought, now his father was no longer there for him. More importantly, now his father could no longer wield the same influence that he had enjoyed before the dark lord came back.

What to do with his life now, Draco pondered. Should he follow in his father's footsteps and join the dark lord when the time came, or, should he stay away from everything! His father had made his own decision a long time back, and now it was Draco's turn. Draco sat down on his favorite armchair by the window, and put his hands behind his head, staring at the scene outside the window as he thought.  
Inspite of growing up with a deatheater for a father, Draco had never felt his father push him towards the dark lord. True, the dark lord had been gone most of his childhood, thanks to the boy who always gets the snitch, Draco sneered, but in a way, that had been nice. He had had a nice, normal childhood, with doting parents and fawning acquaintances. Of course, this was normal for a Malfoy. He didn't want to think about a childhood in which his father would have been running around carrying out the dark lord's orders, or worse, ending up killed.

As much as Draco liked the dark arts and the power that they gave, he found that he didn't really want to spend the rest of his life kissing the dark lord's boots. For one thing, he didn't really like what the deatheaters ended up looking like! I mean, look at aunt Bella, who used to be such a great beauty, and look at her now! True, it was Azkaban that had taken most of her beauty, but he didn't like this particular occupational hazard. Who knew what his father would like, his handsome father, when he got out! Draco was proud of his looks. He knew that he just had to look at a girl for ten seconds, and it was guaranteed that the girl would go to sleep dreaming about him. He smirked. He knew he looked really good. In the looks department, he and Zabini ruled the school. In fact, the junior year slytherins even had a bet out, that due to an absence of good-looking girls in their house, he and Zabini would fall for each other. Draco had to laugh at that. As if. There were enough girls in the school, in other houses, if not in slytherin, who were passable in the looks department. He and Zabini kept a count, and they were neck-and-neck most of the time. But Draco had gone one better last year, a feat so far not attempted. He had dated two best friends at the same time, lead both of them on, slept with them both separately on the same day, and gotten away with it. Pansy and Claire were now the worst of enemies, each thinking the other had tried to steal Draco from her, hating each other and pestering him, much to his chagrin.

Claire had, since then, shifted to America with her parents and had taken admission there, thankfully. She was now out of his hair, thank Merlin. But Pansy….!

Draco closed his eyes in vexation and channeled his thoughts once again.  
Reasons against joining the dark lord…he reminded himself. Ok, so that was looks. There was another reason, the one that irritated him, but in his own self-interest, he refused to overlook it now. This reason was the possibility that the dark lord might be defeated by the boy wonder. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Looking at the track record of their head-to-head encounters, it would be, Potter 5, the dark lord, 0. That didn't look so great if you were considering joining the dark lord. What if, if, if…if Potter prevailed? If he joined the deatheaters, he would be sent to Azkaban, that is, if he were still alive. That would be the end of his glorious life, and he didn't even have kids yet, to carry on the Malfoy name. Forget kids, he didn't want to die yet. And he didn't want to end up in Azkaban either. Think, Draco, think…he told himself.

Would it be suicide to join the dark lord, or would it be suicide to turn his back on the man who had survived a killing curse and had been reborn…if indeed he was a man! Or would it make more sense to be in the good books of the boy who had survived the killing curse, and was now being hailed as the "Chosen One". Much as he despised Potter, and loathed the idea of having to speak civilly to him, he had his life to consider. If he joined the rag-tag Order, would he be forced to fight against his father to prove his loyalty? He didn't want to fight his father, he merely wanted to save his own skin. And if he joined the Order, and the dark lord won…he didn't even want to think what would happen to him.

What should he do…remain aloof from both sides? Shift to his villa in Rome with his mother? He had no doubts that if the dark lord wanted him, he would find him, and have him, no matter where he hid himself. Only the Order could save him from the dark lord, but that was only if they could save themselves. And that would be only if the boy wonder scored again. Shit.

Draco closed his eyes again and groaned. Why couldn't he have a normal life, like a normal boy his age? He had seen muggle boys his age recently…around 5-6 of them. They were standing by the roadside, resting against their parked motorbikes, discussing something animatedly. Then they had given a loud hoot of laughter, and given each other high-fives. If he were to ask his friends to give him a high-five, Crabbe would most probably levitate five different objects and dump them on his head, and Goyle…he wouldn't do anything, because a) he couldn't levitate anything, and b) he couldn't count to five, Draco thought sourly.

Once again he flashed upon those boys…their carefree looks, their camaraderie, their sense of belonging with each other…something he had missed all his life up to that point. Then they had got on their bikes, and roared away in the distance, yelling at each other to catch up. That he didn't miss, that noisy muggle contraption…he had his broomstick. And he was a damn good flyer. But he did miss friendship. In slytherin, there were only the powerful and their followers, and the weak without followers. There were no friendships. He was powerful, and so had Crabbe and Goyle as his followers. But they were in no sense his equals. His equals were Zabini and Nott…but they were not so powerful. Zabini didn't have the name "Malfoy", which was a synonym for power, and Nott, who had the name and was certainly clever enough, lacked personality. So they were loners, and he, Draco, was the Slytherin Prince. But he always had to be on his toes…no mistakes were allowed. Those whom he lorded over would pounce on any sign of weakness he showed. So, he had to sink to newer depths at every turn to rise in their eyes. He had managed it magnificently till now, of course. He was the one who tormented the golden trio the most, he was the one who was Snape's favorite, he was the one who had shagged two best friends and gotten away with it…shit.

Draco got up and stretched himself. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't really proud of that achievement, even if it had served the purpose of reminding Zabini who was boss. He wanted a proper girlfriend, not a perpetually whining Pansy in his life. Pansy was good in the sheets, but he didn't know what to do with her when she was standing up. She could insult Gryffindors, ok, but that was about it. She didn't have much of a brain, and followed him around and hung on to his arm whenever she got the opportunity.

Draco leaned against the window frame, staring pensively at the riot of colors that was his garden. He wanted a girl who had the looks, certainly, and some amount of brain. Was that too much to ask! Someone who wouldn't mind the fact that her hair were a bit messy with the wind in them, never mind the fact that Draco himself was always perfectly groomed. Someone who could hold her own, and not hang onto him. Someone who wouldn't become a notch in another guy's bedpost the moment his back was turned. Someone who wouldn't call him "Drakie" or "Dracy-poo", he made a disgusted face. Someone who would be fun to be with. At all times, not just in bed.  
Draco sighed and turned away. Well, till he found that "someone", he would make do with power. Power was an aphrodisiac in itself. And power he had, he thought as his fist closed around his Head Boy badge. Life may not be good, but it wasn't bad either. He smirked.

**A/N:** This is my very first fanfic, so be gentle people.


	2. Expected and Unexpected

A/N: Hats off to JKRowling, may all the bugles sound for her

A/N: Hats off to JKRowling, may all the bugles sound for her.

The morning of their departure to Hogwarts dawned, and none too soon for Harry, who wanted to escape the house that Sirius had hated. On Mrs. Weasley's rather persuasive advice they had packed their trunks and all their things the previous night itself, and their journey to the station was rather uneventful and a tad depressing. Harry was ready to bid goodbye to the only place he had known as home for the past 6 years, the only place where he had ever been happy. But it was time to move on, as the final battle was approaching. He wasn't even sure if he would be completing the year at Hogwarts. He just knew what he had to do if he did complete it. He had already decided to apply for Auror training once he had his NEWTs in the bag. And then the next stop, Voldemort. But still, the realisation that this was to be his last year at Hogwarts hurt.

Hermione was rather excited; she had been looking forward to this day ever since she had been made prefect back in their fifth year. Her appointment as the Head Girl was purely along expected lines…but she was a tad disappointed that none of her friends had been made Head Boy. Well, she had known in her heart it couldn't be Ron as he had not distinguished himself as a prefect in any way. And seeing that Dumbledore hadn't made Harry a prefect either in their fifth year, her hopes hadn't been too high for him. But still, it would have been nice if it had been them. She didn't know who the Head Boy was as yet, but she knew she would find out on the train soon enough.

Ron was rather depressed. First, he had got up a bit late and hadn't had time for breakfast, and his stomach was rumbling. Second, he had missed the chance to be kissed goodbye by Fleur yet again, thanks to Ginny. And lastly, Hermione seemed too lost in her own world to pay any attention to him. And Harry being rather pensive wasn't helping the matters at all. At least they could've talked about quidditch. But no such luck. He would just have to pass the time somehow.

Ginny was unsure as to how to feel. On the one hand, she was relieved at being freed from the company of Fleur and her mother…talk of her mother, it was rather alarming how she had suddenly taken a liking to Fleur. Nobody could imagine she had been against Bill marrying her in the first place. She supposed it was because of the baby. Anyways, it was a blessing to get away from those two. On the other hand, she didn't know where her relationship with Harry would go once they were among their peers. If he was distracted when they were alone, heaven knew what he would be now. She didn't want to be so possessive about him, but she had this fear deep within her…what if Harry didn't come back after fighting with Voldemort! She wanted to make most of the time that they had together, but she didn't know how to put her point across.

When they reached the station, they got out of the ministry cars and the accompanying aurors got them trolleys. Harry hated this protection thing but knew that he couldn't do anything about it.

They got through the barrier as if sleepwalking, each lost in their own world. But as the scarlet steam engine came into view, they all perked up.

There was the usual bustle of hauling up their trunks, bidding their goodbyes to the tearful Mrs. Weasley and a rather amused Tonks, dressed up as a mild old witch this time, looking remarkably like aunt Petunia. Harry rather thought she had done it on purpose.

Once inside, they found themselves an empty compartment and settled down. Suddenly, Hermione jumped up, startling everyone.

"Oh, I forgot. I have to go to the Heads compartment. And er, Ron and Ginny, you have to first report to the prefects carriage, and then, er, patrol the corridors. Um, see you at the feast, Harry. " and then snatching up her satchel full of books, she was gone.

Harry again felt the sinking feeling of being left alone; this time Ginny was a prefect too. But he simply shrugged at his friends. "See you later, then."

Ron and Ginny both felt guilty and odd at leaving Harry alone. But it couldn't be helped. So they trudged off.

A few minutes later, Neville and Luna entered his compartment, followed by Dean and Seamus. Soon, Harry forgot everything as he got lost in discussing quidditch.

Hermione nearly ran to the Heads compartment…that had been awful. She didn't want to leave her friends, but this had to be done. And she felt bad about having to tell Ron and Ginny what to do. The worst was leaving Harry all by himself…she really hated that.

Lost in her misery, she didn't realize she had reached her destination. Automatically, she turned the knob and went inside, to be confronted by the sight of Draco Malfoy resting on a couch, taking up all the space and idly perusing the Daily Prophet.

Hermione froze. Of all the people she had expected to be made Head Boy, Malfoy hadn't even figured on the list. And yet, here he was, looking at her with his silvery gray eyes, his mouth slowly forming his trademark smirk.

"What are you doing here?" she blurted out, cursing herself almost immediately for giving herself away like that.

"Why, waiting for you, Granger." He supplied smoothly.

"Waiting for me? How did you know it would be me?" Hermione asked as she shut the door behind her and sat down on an armchair.

"I had absolutely no doubt that it would be you, Granger. Dumbledore, after all, has his reputation to think of." Draco drawled out. "Of a mudblood-loving fool," he added as he read the question on her face.

"Oh, foolish, is he! He made you the Head Boy, don't forget." She replied rather waspishly.

"Well, even foolish old men have their moments of great wisdom", he quipped.

"We'll see about that, wont we?" she asked rather sweetly.

"I am rather content on seeing you for now, Granger", he answered, running his eyes lazily over her figure. Hermione flushed.

"What are you doing?" she asked, rather shocked.

"Why, checking you out, Granger. Surely that was obvious! The years have been kind to you." Draco replied rather coolly, and picked up his paper again. There, he thought, that was nicely put. Neither too offensive, nor too friendly. He still hadn't decided what to do, so he was going to play it by the ear. Being tolerant to the mudblood in the meantime might help, for Merlin knew what he would have to do to smarmy up to Potter later if the need arose. He would have to be careful, though…if he got too soft, she might suspect he was up to something. The whole idea was distasteful, but what the heck, a man must do all he can to save his skin. And he buried himself in his paper again.

Hermione was in a different kind of turmoil. She had never been "checked out" like that before. Who would check her out, that was also a question. Harry felt like a brother; and besides, he was so much preoccupied these days, he wouldn't even have noticed if she had grown horns on her nose. Ron could never look at her like that…so boldly and so…audaciously. In fact, Ron would only steal glances at her, and if she caught his eye, he would turn red and look away. Checking her out was something that Ron could not do even in his dreams. She knew he respected her as a friend first.

Malfoy, however, was totally different. She didn't think there were that many people whom he respected, and he certainly didn't respect any girls. There were rumors at Hogwarts, about him and a number of girls. And the nastiest one was about him two-timing Parkinson and her best friend Baxter. The latter had left the school for good after that. Malfoy had the kind of reputation that girls whispered about, giggling excitedly and wondering inside when he would look their way, while outwardly claiming they were immune to his charms. The worst part was, the cocky bastard knew it.

Hermione sat there, twisting her hands in her lap, while Malfoy continued to be absorbed in the sports section. Damn all boys. She was shaken up by his seemingly casual comment and the not-so-casual look that he had given her. Why, he had even complimented her…a mudblood in his book. Had he changed that much, she thought not! The years had been kind to her…well, she had certainly filled out nicely, and finally learned to tame her preposterous hair so that they resembled a wild shrub slightly less these days. But she was still the same as ever otherwise…dressing more for practicality than fashion…sacrificing style for comfort.

Malfoy, on the other hand, was always dressed to kill. He always wore designer labels, only the finest things worked for him. Well, money had its uses. But it was more than money. He was just too good looking for his own good. His sense of style was inherent to him…part of his nature. His quidditch training had meant work-outs, and that had resulted in a perfectly sculpted, well-toned body. He was tall, around 6 feet 2, and already had a physique to die for. Add to that his platinum blond locks and piercing gray eyes, and he had more than enough reason to have his head permanently in the clouds. Which is where it usually was. And the worst part was, his cockiness added to his looks, instead of working against him.

"…and then the goblins and the mudbloods lived happily ever after!"

"What?" Hermione asked, shocked and startled at the same time.

"I was merely wondering what exactly would bring you back to earth", Malfoy replied, a hint of amusement in his voice. He had gotten rid of his paper, and was now reclining on the couch, looking at her with a faint interest.

"Very funny", she seethed.

"Calm down, Granger…I m trying to be as nice as I possibly can to you. Don't you realize that?"

"By calling me a mudblood?" Hermione asked archly.

"Ah, c'mon Granger. After so many years…think of it as, ah, a term of endearment."

"Really! And why would you want to be nice to me, Malfoy?" Hermione inquired rather coolly.

"Because we are going to be living together this year, more or less, and I am one peace-loving guy."

Hermione snorted, "oh sure."

"Don't believe me? Tsk tsk. Oh ye of little faith. Besides, now that you have started looking more like a girl and less like a walking tree with a book stuck on it, I feel I have to take it into consideration. By the way, has the Weasel noticed?" Malfoy now seemed to be enjoying himself.

"What has that got to do with you?" Hermione was on the defensive again, forgetting the rest of his statement.

"Nothing. Just asked out of a purely academic interest. But I do wonder at times…what do you see in him?" Malfoy smirked.

"Oh, so these are you academic interests, Malfoy! No wonder your grades at school don't pick up."

"Touche!" Malfoy smiled. "I mean to ask, you are loaded with brains, too much in fact, but still…and you have a fairly passable face, and now that I have seen it, a passable figure as well. Why would someone like you fancy Weasel King, of all people! He is not famous like Potter or Krum, not good looking like, well, me…he looks more like a moron who's been out in the sun too long, he is not rich, he is not unduly burdened by way-too-much intellect, and if he's terribly talented at something, then he hides it well. So what is it?"

Hermione had by now started hyperventilating. How dare this slimy git keep piling insult upon insult on Ron, specially now that he's not here to shut his mouth for him!

"Are you jealous of him, Malfoy?" she finally spat at him.

Malfoy seemed startled by this, and then he started laughing. It was not a sneer, not a sarcastic laugh, but a real, ringing laugh, full of genuine amusement. And it made Hermione mad more than a fake laugh would have. This bastard really thought Ron was no good.

"I'll have you know, Malfoy, that Ron is way better than you are, at almost everything that is worth doing or being." She fumed at him.

It only served to make him laugh harder still. He clutched the side of his couch to prevent himself from falling over, continuing to shake from mirth. Last time she had seen him laugh so hard had been when Ron's broken wand had misfired and he had ended up belching out slugs.

Even through her anger, she couldn't help noticing how attractive his genuine laugh was, how desirable he looked when he threw back his head and his chest heaved with mirth, how sensual his eyes looked, with silvery light dancing in their gray pools…how come she hadn't noticed that before! How come she was noticing it now, when the evil creature was laughing at Ron, she suddenly seethed at herself.

Malfoy, meanwhile, was calming down, holding his stomach with one hand and wiping out tears from his eyes with the other.

"I haven't laughed so hard in ages, Granger. Looks like you have picked up a sense of humor too, over the summer. Way to go. This will be a fun year, I can see that now."

Deciding that if she spoke anything at all, it would only work for him, she glared at him and taking a book out of her satchel, buried her nose in it. Malfoy smirked.


	3. A Long Lost Sister

**Disclaimer:** Lets hear it for JKR, for she is truly the best of all. Sia, however, is all mine.

The train journey passed uneventfully, if it could be called that, considering Hermione had a terrible time shut up in the Heads compartment with Draco, who did nothing more than let out a chuckle from time to time. Harry whiled away some time discussing Gryffindor team's chances this year, after all, he was the captain. Dean and Seamus both seemed enthusiastic, and even Neville felt that Harry would give the Gryffindors the perfect gift of a third straight Quidditch Cup in their last year. Luna, of course, was more interested in the reasons behind vampire Scrimgeour's recent order to have crumple-horned snorkacks rounded up and killed.

Ron and Ginny came back sometime after the food trolley had gone, and enthusiastically gorged on the sweets and pasties Harry had saved for them. Ginny kept throwing glances at Harry, trying to gauge what he was thinking, but Harry, as usual, seemed preoccupied, this time with the boys. Ginny sighed.

* * *

As everyone disembarked from their carriages, a collective sigh went up from all the seventh years…their last time here. But several young people with empty stomachs cannot remain sentimental for long, so they all went inside to the Great Hall, to their respective House tables, greeting their old friends, waiting for the Sorting to begin.

Hermione settled down beside Harry, across from Ron, so she could look at him freely without needing any excuse. She was thoroughly depressed after having to look at that ferret the entire journey, she tried to tell herself. Almost automatically, her glance slipped over to the Slytherin table, and over to a platinum-blonde head. Draco Malfoy seemed to be holding court, with almost every Slytherin craning their necks to hear what he had to say. Pansy Parkinson was right beside him, batting her eyelashes at him, hanging on to his every word. Disgusting, Hermione thought. The brief conversation she had had with him on the train flashed through her mind, and she blushed. The question was, had he really changed that much over the summer that he would think of muggleborn girls as "girls", and even pay them half-hearted compliments! Hermione chewed it over in her head till Harry spoke up.

"So, Hermione, who's the Head Boy?" he looked at her with mild interest.

Hermione swallowed and bowed her head, but then, looked up straight into Harry's green eyes and said with a clear voice, "its Malfoy."

Harry's eyebrows shot up in shock and amazement, and disappeared under his messy black hair. It was Ron, however, who gave the most telling reaction.

"WHAT!!" he yelled, "ARE YOU SERIOUS? ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT SLIMY, STINKING, SLYTHERIN GIT IS THE HEAD BOY?"

"Hush Ron, please…", Hermione almost whispered to the angry boy opposite her, who was slowly turning red. Hermione looked around worriedly, more than a bit embarrassed, as Ron's voice had carried.

Sure enough, the hall was almost silent, everyone staring at them. She snuck a glance at the Slytherin table, where everyone was staring daggers at them, well all except one. Malfoy was sitting erect, almost haughtily, and a most amusing smirk was rapidly spreading across his face. When their eyes met, the look on his face was a knowing one, commenting silently on their earlier conversation. Damn him, she fumed silently, and damn Ron, for giving him a reason to think that he was right.

She looked away and fixed her eyes on Ron, who looked more like an over-ripe tomato now. Or like he had been in the sun too long…wait! She seriously cant be thinking what that arrogant idiot had to say about Ron. Cut it out, she told herself angrily.

Focusing on Ron, she began, "Ron, I am not exactly overjoyed either, but please, lets not make a spectacle of us. It's exactly what he expects of us. Lets handle this with maturity and…dignity. Lets behave as though this means nothing to us at all, it doesn't bother us in the slightest. That will steal his moment of glory…he gets half his kicks in annoying us, and if we deprive him of the reaction he wants, he will stew." She finally stopped hissing at him from under her breath.

Ron goggled at her. Slightly embarrassed as he was at his sudden outburst, he thought Hermione was being really dense.

"Hermione", he began in a lower voice, speaking as though to a particularly stupid child. "You don't realize what you are saying. You have to spend the whole year with that git…shut up in a separate dorm and everything. I know, because Bill and Percy had told me. It will be just you and him…and you don't know him. He could get plenty of opportunities to try a whole lot of things…and you would be all alone…"

"Ronald Weasley! I can look after myself perfectly well, thank you very much. I can hex him faster than he could raise his wand, and I definitely know a whole lot of spells more than him." Hermione cut across him, slightly peeved.

"I know, Hermione. But you don't know him. He is a potential deatheater. I mean, his father is one, and he is evil enough. And you don't know his reputation in this school as far as girls are concerned. He is…" but then, Ron stopped and almost blushed. He had never talked with Hermione on such a sensitive topic before, and seemed lost for words.

Hermione, however, had already seen red. Ron was talking to her in such a condescending tone, as though she was a babe-in-woods, with no idea about deatheaters or big bad wolfs.

"Ron", she began grounding out. "I am not exactly a child. And for your kind information, I have spent as much time in this school as you have, and know as much about people around as you. Also, although this might shock you, I happen to know that Lucius Malfoy is a deatheater, and you don't need to remind me how evil or twisted Malfoy is, because I am the one who has been called a "mudblood" ever since I got here. Do you really think I am going to shake his hand and join his evil Slytherin gang? Or are you actually scared I am going to jump into bed with him?" Hermione was red in the face as well, her hair nearly crackling with electricity, and starting to resemble their earlier incarnation.

Ron turned an even deeper shade of red. But he was pleased that Hermione had understood all of his concerns. However, he was not going to let her have the last word.

"I only…" he began, but was cut off again, by Harry this time, who had so far been entirely silent.

"Shut it, Ron. Hermione is right. She can take care of herself, and we have to trust her instincts. Besides,", he said, overriding Ron's incredulous look, "she has always got us." Then he turned to a grateful looking Hermione. "If anything happens, anything at all, you will tell us, right? Ron is right in a way too, I would put nothing past that git." He told her seriously.

Hermione smiled at him and gave his hand a light squeeze in affirmation. Ron looked slightly mollified as well, what with Harry's tactful handling of the situation. Harry was getting really good at this, what with his two best friends at each other's throats ever so often. He was getting quite good at knowing to say the right things too, and doing the right things. Both Ron and Hermione had terrible tempers, and Harry was getting adept at soothing egos and lending a shoulder to cry on.

Just then, Professor McGonagall came into the hall carrying a stool and the Sorting hat, followed by a crooked line of first years, all looking rather frightened. The hat then had its say, singing a new song again, and yet again warning against divisions from within and the need for a united front in face of the enemy outside. And then the sorting began.

Just as Alderwood, Ivana became a Ravenclaw, Harry leaned across the table towards Ron, turning his head slightly to look at Hermione as well, and said with a twinkle in his eyes, "Lucky McGonagall didn't witness your passionate outburst, Ron, or we would have lost house points already." Ron looked slightly abashed, and looked almost shyly at Hermione, who blushed and hung her head. Now that she thought about what she had said to Ron in her outburst, she could hardly look him in the eye. Harry laughed; he enjoyed putting them both in a spot, knowing full well what each felt for the other. And yet, a part of him worried for them. They both had such volatile tempers; if they became a couple, would their friendship survive a really passionate outburst? Harry mulled over it silently as the sorting continued. Meanwhile, three seats away from Ron, Ginny sat with her friend, seemingly interested in what she had to say about latest muggle fashions while watching Harry covertly. She didn't know why she was getting so negative, but it felt to her as though Harry was slipping away from her.

McGonagall was through with the sorting, it seemed, and everyone looked up at the staff table expectantly, waiting for Dumbledore to welcome them officially and the feast to start. But evidently, something was up, because Dumbledore continued to look at McGonagall, who had still not left with the sorting hat and stool. Then, she spoke up again, and all eyes snapped to her.

"There is to be one more sorting. A new student will be joining us this year for our NEWT classes. She has, er, _chosen_ to come here from the Beauxbatons Academy, and will complete her final year at Hogwarts. Please step forward to be sorted, Miss Raisingh."

At these words, a tall girl stepped forward from the shadows near the doors, and came to stand directly in front of McGonagall. She was quite tall, over 5 feet 8, and her hair were pulled rather severely away from her face in a ponytail, making her hazel eyes stand out quite prominently on her impassive face. Her black robe was tied very tightly around her throat, and buttoned down all the way, making her look like a cloistered nun.

As soon as she saw the girl, Hermione knew she would end up in Slytherin. She couldn't quite say what made her think that, maybe it was the way she held herself, all proud and erect, or it was the cold, haughty way she looked around herself. Or maybe it was the barely-there sneer which came upon her face as she took a look at the patched and frayed sorting hat. All the signs of a stuck-up pureblood, who thought she was too good for things around her. It strongly reminded Hermione of Fleur, who had acted very similar when she had first come to Hogwarts for the Triwizard tournament. What was it with the Beauxbaton girls, Hermione thought angrily.

The new girl looked McGonagall straight in the eye, which no new student, and very few older students, dared to do. McGonagall then called out, "Raisingh, Sia Maria." The girl gave a light shrug and picked up the hat, looking at it with a slight distaste before sitting down on the stool and putting it on rather gingerly. All this snootiness was not lost on the people sitting at the four tables. None of this, of course, endeared her to Hermione.

"Just look at her", she fumed. "She looks like Malfoy's long lost sister."

"What! How can you say that, Hermione? Her hair are all dark, and her skin is kind of tanned. She doesn't resemble him in the slightest." Ron of course.

"Ron, I was talking about her attitude. She is all cocky and arrogant like him. I wouldn't be surprised at all if it turns out that Lucius Malfoy had taken it up with an Indian woman, and she is the result. I bet she ends up in Slytherin." Harry was rather astounded at the venom in Hermione's voice.

However, no sooner were the words out of her mouth, than the hat screamed, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The entire hall seemed to be taken aback at this, and belatedly, a few of the Gryffindors clapped in a half-hearted sort of way. The new girl, Sia Maria Raisingh, made her way over to the Gryffindor table, and to her horror, sat down next to Hermione. There was an awkward sort of silence, as nobody ventured to speak to the new girl, and neither did she meet anyone's eyes, preferring to look around the hall and up at the staff table instead. But then Dumbledore got up and twinkling down at everyone said, "Welcome to a new year. Before anything else, tuck in." and then he sat down, and immediately the tables filled up with food.

"Brilliant!" Ron cried, and immediately started piling up his plate and wolfing down the food at an alarming speed.

The girl beside Hermione picked up her fork delicately, and started putting tiny morsels of food in her mouth rather sophisticatedly. Hermione frowned, and tried to glare at Ron and tell him with her eyes to behave, but her look seemed lost on him. Instead, to her disgust, Ron started talking to Harry in his usual manner.

"Watchoothinboudkiddichanseofarouse?"

Hermione froze with horror. The girl beside her froze with disapproval. She raised her hazel eyes slowly towards Ron, and stared hard. Ron, who had seemed oblivious to Hermione's glare earlier, suddenly felt the stare, and looked at her. The girl's eyes narrowed and fixed Ron with a rather hard, cold, haughty stare. Ron gulped involuntarily and seemed slightly put out. Then he started taking slightly smaller pieces of food and kept his mouth shut.

Harry noticed this, and covered his snigger. Hermione noticed this, and felt red-hot tongues of anger licking her insides. She, who had felt disgusted everytime Ron did the same thing around her, felt her blood boil at the girl. First Malfoy, then this girl…why is everyone picking on Ron today, she seethed inwardly. And why did Ron have to react to her! He could have chosen to ignore her, the way he always does with me!

Hermione ate her entire meal with blood pumping in her head, not registering what she was eating and what was going on around her. She did not pay the slightest bit of attention when Dumbledore got to his feet and addressed them. She, however, felt several pairs of eyes on her rather suddenly, and snapped out of her reverie. She looked up to find Harry and Ron looking at her in amazement, and utter stillness in the hall. Then she saw Malfoy, standing up and bowing gracefully to the hall in general, and great applause from Slytherins. Evidently, Dumbledore had just announced the names of the Heads. Hermione stood up rather hurriedly, and the Gryffindor table erupted in claps, catcalls and cheers, with Harry and Ron pounding the table. She smiled gratefully, happiness flooding her, and waved to everyone in the hall. Malfoy waved back, and she sat down rather suddenly, her smile wiped away. He smirked at her. The jerk, she thought.

"Well, well, what a strange coincidence." A voice beside her said, and Hermione turned slowly to face a pair of hazel eyes looking into her chocolate brown ones.

"Yes?" she asked a bit snappishly.

The girl did not flinch in the slightest. Instead, she smirked slightly, reminding Hermione even more of Malfoy. "Of course it is." She continued to smirk. "Not only do I get sorted into the house of Harry Potter, I also get a seat beside the Head Girl. Now how good is that?"

Hermione continued to fume inwards, but decided to ignore the girl. But just as she turned to her plate, the girl spoke again. "Congratulations on becoming the Head Girl. By the way, I am Sia."

Hermione clenched her teeth in frustration and ground out, "Thanks. I am Hermione Granger." She didn't know how to avoid the girl.

"Uhunh. HG. Okay." The girl infuriated her even more by the deliberate use of her initials. "Its not HG, its Hermione Granger!" she decided to make it clear then and there. But for all the notice the girl took of her, she might have been speaking to her fork. Sia's eyes had looked straight past Hermione, and were now fixed on Harry. And very suddenly, nearly knocking Hermione's fork out of her hand, and yet in a very fluid motion, she extended her hand towards Harry.

"Hello, Harry Potter. Its so nice to finally meet you. I have heard a lot about you, of course, from someone you know. The girls at Beauxbatons send their love." She said all of this with a smile on her face, and a sincerity she had not displayed till then. Hermione frowned. Harry took her hand, blushing a little, but smiling nonetheless. "Hello Sia. Welcome to Hogwarts, and Gryffindor." Sia smiled again. "You must have heard about Hogwarts from Fleur." He couldn't quite bring himself to say 'about me'.

Sia let go of his hand and returned to her food, shaking her head and smiling a bit mischievously this time. "No, no. Fleur was Beauxbaton's super-bitch in her time, and wouldn't speak with anyone below her year. No, I heard about you from Gabrielle. She is quite smitten with you, I am afraid." She rolled her eyes at that, and Harry smiled again.

Ginny, who was listening in to the conversation, suddenly stiffened. She had never felt fonder of Fleur than she suddenly did now. Ron had stopped eating and was eyeing Sia. "Fleur", announced Hermione rather loudly, and all eyes snapped to her, "is my friend Ron's sister-in-law. She is married to his eldest brother." She finished, gesturing towards Ron.

"Really?" Sia drawled and her eyes slowly turned to Ron's, who had a bit of spaghetti dangling from his mouth, and she looked at him with a very curious expression on her face, something like the cat that knows the cream is just round the corner. "And…is your brother anything like you…Ron?" she nearly leered.

Hermione bristled at the intended insult, and Ginny's eyes flashed fire. Ron, who took a moment longer to get the meaning, slowly started turning red. Harry frowned…talking about Fleur lightly when she obviously didn't know her relation to them was one thing, but deliberately insulting Ron and dragging Bill's name was quite another. He looked worriedly at the Weasleys, and felt his heart drop when he saw the look on Ginny's face. This could turn really ugly, because of all her brothers, Ginny probably idolized Bill the most. And she had a temper even worse than Ron's.

Sia looked at the people around her, and noticed Ginny about to pounce on her. One look at her hair and freckles, and she knew she was Ron's sister. Once she was certain that she had ruffled all the feathers around her, she turned to Ron and said rather sweetly, "Of course, I mean that in the nicest way possible."

Harry decided that he had to defuse the situation, otherwise the Gryffindors would be at each others throat right then and there. "Bill", he began gravely, "is a curse-breaker with Gringotts. He is a very nice man, and I like him." Then he looked pointedly at Sia.

Sia took the message and backed down. As she returned to her plate, however, Ginny decided to have a word. She could not let this newcomer insult Bill and get away with it, even if Harry's intervention on their behalf had mollified her slightly. "You said that Fleur was the super bitch at Beauxbatons while she was there…you didn't say who the super bitch is there now!" her allusion couldn't have been clearer.

Sia met her eyes squarely, and didn't break contact while she chewed her morsel. Then she gave a small smile and said, "Well, the position is up for grabs now…but, while I was there, I was." And she smiled again and went back to her food.

Ginny and Hermione were ready to bet she wasn't lying.

**A/N: C'mon guys…don't just close this tab now….review, and let me know what you think. And please be gentle on Sia, she's my baby. :) R&R.**


	4. The Classes Hurt

**Disclaimer**: I am JK Rowling in disguise typing out fanfiction because I don't know what to do with my billions and also because I don't have a life. What? Don't believe me? Boohoohoo!

Breakfast the next morning was uproar, as usual

Breakfast the next morning was uproar, as usual. The first day of classes, and the handing out of timetables, not to mention the owls soaring in…to Harry, it felt home. And he felt another pang in his heart when he thought he would never have another first day here.

Professor McGonagall was bustling about, handing out timetables to Gryffindors. As she passed out their timetables, Hermione felt Ron groan beside her.

"What?" she asked him.

"Just look at this…today we have no free period till break. And the first class is double Potions! What a great start to the year! And look, there's not even a single day when we don't have Potions or Transfigurations! How blessed am I!" Ron looked towards the Heavens.

"C'mon Ron, this is our NEWT year. We just can't study enough! And Potions and Transfiguration are among the most difficult subjects here. Not to mention Defence against the Dark Arts, which is of course, very important, when you consider whom we have to face. And Charms is going to help too, I am sure. And when you consider how much help knowing about magical plants does to us, you would consider adding Herbology to the list. And then you take Arithmancy, it is…"

"No, please don't…stop it!" Ron cut Hermione off midstream, putting both his hands on his ears. Then he glared at her. "Its painful enough just thinking about it, why do you have to spell it out like that! And why do you have to look so enthusiastic about all this?"

"Oh Ron, cut it out. The classes wont hurt you." Hermione huffed at him.

How wrong she was.

* * *

They all had lined up outside the dungeon that was their Potion classroom, and waited for Snape to open the door. There were very few of them now, most of them having failed to meet Snape's expectations of a NEWTs class. So now, all the seventh years took this class together. They were standing now, Slytherins on one side, and all the rest on the other.

Harry stood between Ron and Hermione, who had been bickering since breakfast. He was so used to their verbal duels now that he felt strange when they were quiet. To Hermione's utter disgust and Harry's secret delight, the new girl, Sia, was standing next to Hermione. Harry could just see Hermione blowing up at the slightest excuse by the girl. Ginny would have been even better, he mused, as she blows up much better and much faster. He grinned to himself, and suddenly realized he had not talked to her properly since…well, since a long time. He started missing her just then, and made a mental note to meet up with her as soon as he could.

The Slytherins glared at the line up in front of them. Most of them had not forgotten Ron's outburst from last night regarding their prince and were now ready to attack. First was Pansy, who had taken the insult thrown at her Draco to heart.

"Merlin, the standards of this place are really falling. A mudblood for a Head Girl…ewww!" she made a face at Hermione, as the rest of them laughed. Draco, however, who was propped up by the wall beside Pansy with his eyes shut, did not.

Hermione noted this, as she chose to ignore this insult by just glaring at Pansy. How was this, she mused, he is the one who has always initiated insults at us, and now he is not even joining in! She felt the girl beside her stir a bit, but ignored her. Last night she had been insufferable. And talking of last night, Malfoy had done the unthinkable last night! When they had been given the password to their dorms, he had simply said the password to the portrait of a very regal looking witch, stepped inside to their common room, looked around, and had gone up to his dormitory to sleep, all without uttering a single word…a single insult! Weird, that's what it was! Malfoy without his insults or smirks was like Ron without his temper. Totally out of character! And speaking of Ron,…

"Hey, Weaselbee! Heard you have a thing for the mudblood! Even you could've done better, and that's saying something!" More shouts of laughter. Hermione flushed, and Ron started turning red.

"Shut it, Milton." Harry said quietly.

"And here is the Best Man, Scarhead himself!" Bulstrode shouted with glee using Draco's favorite nickname for Harry. The Slytherins snickered at him.

"Hey Potter, we thought you'd end up with the mudblood. Weren't you two an item in our fourth year?"

"Look, the Head Girl has hired a new henchwoman to protect herself! Maybe she has done that to protect herself from you, Weasel King! Are you that bad at kissing?"

Sia had been growing uncomfortable by the minute. These people were really rude. But maybe, they have a history with Harry and Ron and HG. And here they were, standing like dummies, just listening to the taunts. But why start attacking me, she thought! They don't even know me. She knew that the 'henchwoman' was meant for her. As much as she wanted to put these people in their place, she couldn't. Not after last night. Things had gone so horribly wrong…how she hated her father! And her mother too.

Sia looked at the offending Slytherin and gave him a sick sort of smile, and kept her mouth shut. And then the Head Boy lolling against the wall near the bitch who had started it all opened his eyes. Inspite of the bad mood Sia was in, she couldn't help noticing him. He was tall, and the way his cloak hugged his shoulders suggested a good physique. And his hair…they were like finely spun platinum threads doused in liquid silk. His eyes, however, were the most captivating thing about him, unfathomable gray pools with silver bouncing off. They reminded her of a dappled brook of running water, rippling with shards of sunlight. Without a doubt, Sia was impressed. Beauxbaton boys had been fairly good looking, but none had eyes like him. As Sia's gaze slipped to his mouth, she saw the mouth in question form a sneer, and looking up, she saw the sneer directed at her. Realizing she had been caught, Sia glared at him and looked away.

Draco saw the 'henchwoman' checking him out, and couldn't stop his derision. Even scarecrows were attracted to him now, he thought with cruel amusement. She must have a really hideous figure to keep it so well hidden beneath her tightly wrapped and buttoned down cloak. And her hair must be really ridiculous if she has to keep them so tightly under leash. Her face reminded him of McGonagall, it looked that severe. There was Fleur, and there is this girl, he thought sourly. Why couldn't he have someone good-looking from Beauxbatons! Oh well, and he again closed his eyes.

Hermione thought that the offending girl beside her would whiplash the Slytherins with her acid tongue seeing as they were targeting her, but was amazed when she said nothing. So all her bitchiness was just for us, her own Housemates, she thought with rising anger. Meanwhile, the Slytherins has started again.

"Hey, I heard you were taking snogging-classes from Brown last year, Weasley. Did they do you any good? By the way, she learnt it all from me. A lot more than just snogging, I might add."

Hermione felt tears of rage and frustration start in her eyes. There was no point in retaliating to the Slytherins, she knew, but it hurt. Not just for herself, but for the sake of her friends as well. She bit on her lips to stop the tears from falling, not wanting to give the evil gits any satisfaction. Harry simply blocked out whatever he was hearing, and focused on his research on the horcruxes. Ron steadily turned a deeper shade of red at every comment, holding his temper in check with a lot of difficulty.

"Hey Weasley, did you manage to shag the bookworm yet, or are you still trying to get past all the books in the way?"

"Shut it, you!" Ron suddenly pulled out his wand and yelled at the offender, a thin boy with black hair plastered to his head, and pointed his wand at his mouth. "Or I will shut it for you…forever."

"Ooooh, watch out Spacey, he's threatening to kiss you," taunted Pansy, as all the Slytherins guffawed.

"Oh, please don't, I apologize. I don't want a worse-than-death experience!" Spacey threw up his hands in air as he mocked Ron.

Ron had by now turned purple with suppressed anger, and Harry chose this time to log back in. He took one look at his friend and realized how bad things were, so he took out his wand. Just then, however, Draco opened his eyes and said lazily, "Stop it guys, its getting rather monotonous."

Every single student present there stared at him, disbelief in every pair of eyes. Draco Malfoy, passing up the chance to torment and taunt the Golden Trio, specially when he had numbers on his side! Surely Snape will not start giving out 'O' on every assignment! The Ravenclaws present shook their head, while the Hufflepuffs stared on disbelievingly. The Gryffindors looked skeptical, thinking that Malfoy probably had something much worse up his sleeve, while the Slytherins were in shock. But before anyone could say anything the door of their classroom opened, and there stood Snape, and a silence fell on them.

"Enter", he said, and seeing the wands in the hands of Harry and Ron, added "Ten points from Gryffindor. Put away your wands, there is to be no fighting in the corridors."

* * *

Harry and Ron entered with the rest, boiling inside at the perfect timing of Malfoy and Snape. The Gryffindors were now convinced they were right.

They all set up their cauldrons, and began working on 'the draught of Insanity', a complex potion that caused various degrees of insanity, depending on its strength and the fullness of moon when it was brewed. They were working individually now, as NEWT students were required to do from sixth year on, Harry trying to concentrate with all his might, as he knew Hermione wouldn't be able to help him. Ron was still gnashing his teeth over what had happened, and Hermione was still pink on the face, but determined to do her best. Right next to her, though, was Sia, which caused Hermione some heartburn.

Sia concentrated on her potion carefully since she could do little else. The letter she had received this morning from her parents had been the bitterest pill she had had to swallow yet, and considering what had happened at Beauxbatons, that was saying something. She was reasonably intelligent, but had never been top of the class, possibly because she had never taken the trouble to concentrate as she was doing now. Or maybe because going through enormous tomes and storing all the information in her brain was not her forte.

At the end of the class, Snape swept through the class checking everybody's work. Malfoy, predictably, got all the praise for doing 'perfect work'. When he reached the Gryffindors, however, the story was different. This time he started from the person farthest from him, and that was Neville.

"Longbottom…what exactly have you brewed, would you care to tell me?" the Slytherins perked up, knowing that fun was about to begin. Even Malfoy was now looking at Neville with a half-smile playing on his lips. "Or maybe the question I should be asking is, can you read at all? The instructions are all on the board, and you cannot seem to even follow what's already written! The dried fang of an adder was to be pounded coarsely, not powdered minutely, and you seem to have added 10 pounds of bluegrass, instead of the required 1. What exactly are you doing in a NEWT class, boy? And more importantly, how did you make the required grade in you OWLs? Are you sure you sat for you own test, Longbottom, instead of using someone else plied with polyjuice potion, which, of course, Miss Granger would have made for you!" Snape was venomous as always in his criticism of Neville, who was visibly falling apart in front of their eyes.

After finding fault with the work of Dean and Parvati, he reached Sia. He looked down his nose at her potion, which was perfect, just like Hermione's, and narrowed his eyes. "Well, well, well. So what do we have here? A perfect concoction of the draught of Insanity by the new Gryffindor." He looked into her eyes, and she looked straight back. "Twenty points from Gryffindor, for copying from your neighbor, Miss Raisingh. In future, please do your own work." He smirked at Sia's shocked face. Then he proceeded to walk to Ron, bypassing Hermione completely. Just before examining Ron's work, however, he turned to Hermione and added "Ten more points from Gryffindor, for letting others copy from you, Miss Granger."

Hermione felt her eyes beginning to well up with tears, as Sia beside her just stared at Snape unbelievingly. Both of them knew that Sia's work was original, and yet, both had to bear the brunt of Snape's animosity. Sia was stunned to see such a biased teacher, and more than that, amazed that his bias had been directed at her. He doesn't even know me, she thought, and he didn't even bother to find out if his suspicion was right! And he is evil, look at the way he treated that poor boy, Neville, was it! Sia itched to say something, but knew that she would get in much more trouble than she already was, and held her tongue. One day, Snape, she promised herself…one day.

Snape, meanwhile, was examining Ron's potion, and the expression on his face matched the one on Filch when he got a chance to punish a student. "Weasley", he positively crowed with delight, "What is this?" he asked as he put a ladle in Ron's potion and brought it up for the entire class to see. When he let it fall back in the cauldron, the Slytherins erupted with laughter. Instead of a clear, pale blue liquid, a charred solid dollop had fallen back in the cauldron. Ron had been so angry with the Slytherins, he had not paid the slightest attention to his potion, and it was now burnt and curdled into a solid precipitate. Ron's ears went red, as Snape shook his head in amazement. "Your potion, Weasley, far surpasses Longbottom's in terms of going wrong, and I, with the utmost regret, of course, will have to give you a detention for being the biggest dunderhead of this year." Snape was actually smiling now, an evil, twisted sort of smile.

Surprisingly, Harry got away rather lightly this time, maybe because Snape already had had much fun at the Gryffindors' expense, or maybe because the bell had rung. Snape had just looked at his potion and walked away without saying anything, probably because his potion, though not perfect, was passable. However, he was boiling inside for the sake of his friends.

* * *

The next class was Transfiguration. After lecturing her class for twenty minutes on the importance of NEWTs in their future career and the amount of work they would have to put in, McGonagall asked them to divide in pairs to practice for the work they would do that day.

"Today", she began, "we would be animating inanimate objects. To begin with, I am going to give you a plastic animal each, and you would be required to animate it so that it behaves as a real animal should. As we progress with the Animatus spell, you would be required to transfigure it completely into a real animal, and then to Conjure real animals and make them behave as you want them, finally, you would learn to animate objects that cannot hold life at all and bestow them with life-like behavior. Now, the spell required is Expecto Animatus, and concentrate carefully, all of you, because it requires a lot of force behind it. So get on with it. And try to do it non verbally, though a first time verbal attempt is acceptable for today."

Hermione and Sia, both had taken care not to be paired up with each other this time. Both were angry at the unfair treatment meted out by Snape, and both blamed each other as the reason behind it. Hermione felt her grades had plummeted because the other girl had sat right next to her, and maybe, taken a sneak look at it while she was working. Sia felt that because of Hermione's history with Snape, she had not got credit for her work, and worse, was accused of cheating.

This resulted in Harry pairing up with Hermione, while Ron was forced to pair with Sia. As the class progressed, each student in a pair took turns in trying out the spell. So far, however, there was no progress.

Sia sat there scowling at Ron, who had been waving his wand energetically at the plastic rabbit for the past fifteen minutes. Sia had not asked to try, and Ron had not asked her to either. With every passing moment, Sia was losing her patience with him. Finally, she snapped, and snatched the rabbit out of his grip as he was turning it over and prodding it to check if it had started breathing yet. Ron was startled, and began to scowl at her, but then saw the dark clouds that had settled over Sia's countenance and relented. Fine, you try now, he mocked her with his eyes.

Sia saw the taunt in his eyes, and grew furious. She gave the rabbit a smart tap with her wand while glaring at it as though the plastic rabbit had done her some physical injury, and thought the spell in her mind furiously. The next instant, a live rabbit leaped from their desk and gamboled through the classroom, as noises broke out around them. Then she turned to Ron and glared at him, who turned a little red around the ears but scowled back. He was reminded of his Charms class in their first year, sitting with Hermione. How he wished he had sat with her instead.

McGonagall swept up to them and stared at Sia imperiously in a way as only she could. "Very impressive for a first attempt, Miss Raisingh. Have you done this before at Beauxbatons? No? Then as I said, very impressive indeed. Ten points for Gryffindor, and a further ten for transfiguring your animal completely, though that was not required for today." Then she looked rather expectantly at Hermione, who was both amazed at the intensity of Sia's magic, and a little resentful that it had to be Sia.

Ron, however, was thoroughly put out by Sia's success followed by McGonagall's extravagant praise. As he got a plastic raven from McGonagall to practice, he gave it a very sharp tap from the tip of his wand, making it to fly straight at him and hit him squarely on the nose. At least I got him to fly, Ron thought as he held his bleeding nose, but found, to his dismay, that the raven was lying lifeless on the ground by his feet. And Hermione says classes don't hurt, he seethed, only to find Sia trying hard not to smile.

**A/N:** Please do let me know what you think of this chapter, and Sia. Munchkins for everyone who reviews! :-)


	5. Strange Encounters I

As the days progressed, the seventh years felt the burden of NEWTs more than ever. Every teacher had their noses pressed firmly to the grindstone. Even free periods were utilized for studying and doing alarming mounds of homework.

The quidditch season had started, and Harry had once again put up, what he thought, a good team. Katie Bell had graduated last year, but Dean admirably filled her place. Ginny was once again the life and soul of the team, and Harry had to stop himself from rushing to her at every opportunity. They had had a few secret meetings, and Ginny once again looked happy and radiant, and Harry was now less preoccupied with Voldemort, not that he had much time on his hands what with the enormous amount of schoolwork that he had. And Hermione was no longer always available for helping him out, as she had Head duties, not to mention, a separate dorm.

Hermione, meanwhile, was learning to appreciate that Malfoy had a different side to him. One that did not taunt at all times, or was full of full-fledged hatred and animosity. He still laughed at her, oh yes, but now his laughter excited her as nothing else had ever done. The sound of his laughter, even when it was directed at her, now sent tingles up and down her spine, and made her shiver. There was something very sensual about everything he did, even little things like sucking the end of his quill as he did his homework, flicking away imaginary specks of dirt from his robes, running his hands through his perfectly groomed hair, keeping a straight face while he said something hugely ridiculous, or trying to look innocent as he said outrageous things that made her blush, and eventually made him laugh. He was still the most conceited brat she had ever seen, but he let her see things about himself that seemed to make him much more human, even endearing. She wasn't sure whether it was him, or it was her heightened awareness of him, but there definitely was something. Yes, living with Malfoy was fun, something she would never have believed possible. He mostly kept to himself and she saw him only fleetingly, but interactions with him, whenever they took place, were turning out to be the highlight of her days. More so, since Ron had still not made any move towards asking her out, and they were nearing their first Hogsmeade visit. Hermione was thirsting for male attention that bordered on the sexual, but the guy she wanted it from seemed to be taking forever. Malfoy was rapidly filling this blank in Hermione's life unknowingly.

Ron meanwhile was so taken up with tackling his homework and quidditch, that filling Hermione's emotional needs had no place in his head. It wouldn't even have occurred to him, anyways, as he himself couldn't handle emotions. And the possibility that Hermione could ever find solace in Malfoy never occurred to him; now that he was satisfied that Hermione was not going to jump into his bed. It never occurred to Malfoy either, that his merely being non-hostile and nice towards his arch enemy's best friend could mean something deeper to her. And it didn't occur to Hermione either, that she was getting attracted to Malfoy. Harry was blissfully unaware of the undercurrents involved as he was now content with Ginny.

Sia was slowly adjusting herself to life in Hogwarts. She still dressed in the same way, and her attire drew much ridicule, and not just from the Slytherins. She had turned into a role model of sorts for the girls of Hogwarts, as in what _not_ to do if you wanted to avoid a fashion faux pas. She was still very much a loner, and the attempts of Parvati and Lavender to draw her out had not succeeded. But their gossiping tongues had given Sia a perfect picture of everyone in Hogwarts. She, however, had made an exception in Neville, to whom she had been seen talking on more than one occasion. She had surprised herself by behaving very well, although she would be the first one to admit that she didn't have much choice. All the taunts and barbs directed at her were met by silence, or at the most a scowl. She had been found to be a natural at Transfiguration, and was good at Charms and Potions too. Herbology bored her, even if the plants they were learning now were exotic and highly dangerous. But everyone was surprised that she was really bad at Defence Against the Dark Arts. This pleased Ron no end, and he used to make it a point to try and get paired with her in every practical DADA class. Sia would get back to him in Charms or Transfiguration, all without a word, of course.

It was now nearly a month into their term, and Hogsmeade visit was just a couple of days away. Hermione was looking forward to go into the village with Ron, but he had so far not asked. She was particularly interested in going to a new place that had opened up in place of Zonko's, which Fred and George were no longer interested in buying. Instead of a joke shop, however, this was a kind of muggle discotheque, and Hermione was intrigued who would be willing to invest so hugely in a disco in such insecure times. She had pictured an idyllic weekend in her mind, dancing away and having loads of fun with Harry, Ron and Ginny, and gathering some information regarding the owners as well. However, she had just found out from Ginny that she and Harry would be spending the time, ahem, in castle itself. Hermione had laughed at that, knowing full well that they had a really long snogging session planned out. Now that left Ron and herself.

Hermione was thinking along these lines as she was returning to her dorms from the library when she suddenly tripped herself and fell rather heavily to the floor, sprawled out on her stomach. Behind her, she heard sniggering and unpleasant voices. Before she could react, her heavy bag of books split itself and she found herself sprinkled with loads of ink. When she tried to get up, however, she found that she couldnot move. She knew very well that her attackers were Slytherin girls, for she could hear Pansy's voice, but couldn't see anyone from her undignified position. They had put the body bind on her, and she was helpless; she, the Head Girl and the smartest witch in their year. Just wait till I get out of this mess, she thought viciously, and then I will individually hand out detentions to all of you. But till then, she was in a fix, and the evil gang just out of her line of vision was laughing at her predicament. She hoped somebody would see her soon, and help her out of this mess, but this corridor seemed deserted as of now.

Just as Hermione felt more ink splashing down on her head, a pair of footsteps came towards her, and stopped right next to her. She could see it was a girl from her shoes, but little else. Whoever it was, the Slytherin girls went away on seeing her, muttering and snickering under their breaths. Almost immediately, Hermione felt the body bind lift, and a hand extended to her. Hermione took it, and as soon as she got up, to her horror, discovered that it was Sia. She waited for the inevitable barb because of her condition, but none came, and Hermione was surprised on seeing anger on Sia's face instead of her usual scowl or smirk. Hermione fumbled in her robes for her wand to clean herself, but was again surprised when she felt Sia siphon away the ink from her head and clothes.

"Umm…thanks…", Hermione began in a confused and embarrassed tone. She didn't know quite what to say, or what to make of Sia's gesture.

Sia continued to give her a furious glare, as though everything had been her fault, thought Hermione. But when she spoke, her tone was soft.

"Its not right to be always nice and forgiving, HG. Sometimes, you have to give something back." Then she repaired Hermione's bag with a flick of her wand, and started to walk away.

"Hey…wait!" Hermione called after her, and picking up her bag, hurried after her. She caught up with Sia just before she turned round the corner. She caught Sia's arm and turned the girl slightly towards herself. "What was that supposed to mean? Do you think I asked for it, or do you think I am going to let them get away with it?" Hermione glared.

Sia considered her gravely, and replied, "Both. You asked for it, because you let them walk over you all the time, let them get away with insulting you and say mean and degrading things to you. And you will let them get away with it, because you didn't see their faces, so you don't have any proof to punish them."

"But…you saw their faces. You can tell me, and then I will…" Hermione trailed off as Sia shook her head.

"No, HG. That's not my style. I don't tattle tales. They will pay, that's for sure, because they have really pissed me off this past month. But you have to stand up not just for junior years, but for yourself too. They shouldn't even dream of insulting the Head Girl, let alone play such childish pranks. And don't think that ignoring them and acting with dignity around them will make the slightest bit of difference. You have to take the battle to them, they don't understand any other language."

"And what have you been doing these past days? They have been targeting you too." Hermione was stung.

"I have been…", Sia blinked painfully as she considered, "…having some personal problems. But the moment they are resolved, I will get them, and everyone who has been making my life hell. You, HG, don't have to wait. Never for one moment think that your being a muggle-born gives them the right to say whatever they feel like. My father is a muggle, and he could eat all of them alive for breakfast without noticing. Give them what they deserve." With that, Sia turned sharply to leave, and as she turned the corner, collided with a lot of red hair. "Watch it, Gin Gin!" was all she said and was gone.

Hermione grabbed Ginny's hand as she started to wave her wand at Sia's retreating back.

"What?" Ginny asked, still glaring after Sia. "Why did you stop me from hexing Lady Malfoy?"

Hermione stifled a smile. Since that night when she had compared Sia to Malfoy, Ginny had started using this nickname to refer to Sia.

"She isn't really Lady Malfoy." Hermione replied, thinking inwardly that Malfoy was not really the Malfoy they knew, either. "She's alright, I think, in her own way."

Ginny looked slightly confused.

* * *

It was Saturday evening, and most of the students third year and up were at Hogsmeade. Draco Malfoy made his way quickly down the street towards the new hotspot in the village, "The Hag's Tales". Everybody was raving about it, though none had been there yet. Draco had been looking forward to the weekend wanting to check this place out, but by himself. He knew that the place was barred for anyone below sixth year, and he was looking forward to the opportunity of meeting up with some new girl. Maybe even someone outside Hogwarts, for he was pretty sure that he knew all about the "good catches" of Hogwarts. But still, he had to keep his eyes open.

It had taken nearly all the wiliness he possessed to get rid of Pansy today. He didn't want her hanging on his arm while he checked out the crowd; it would have defeated the entire purpose. He had nearly despaired, because Pansy was also very sly at some things. But then, he wasn't the Slytherin Prince for nothing. He reflected on the excuses he had used today, making a note not to use them again. With Pansy, at least.

The Hag's Tales was over-crowded, loud, semi-dark and full of a hazy smoke that smelt of mead and firewhisky and perfumes and sweat. Draco, used to open spaces and people keeping their respectful distance from him, loved it. He made his way towards the bar counter and ordered a goblet of firewhisky for himself. As he settled down, he started scanning the crowds, his eyes moving towards the dance floor, full of dancing lights falling over heaving, sweaty bodies. Cool, he thought.

It was then that he saw her. She was gyrating to the music totally oblivious of her surroundings, all by herself, from the looks of it. And for quite sometime too, judging by the way her dark hair clung to her, wet with sweat. She was wearing a tight-fitting, short, light pink top, contrasting sharply with her tanned skin tone. It seemed to be torn artistically, revealing sweaty, toned skin, Below it, her slim waist swayed to the music sensually, glowing with sweat, the ornament on her pierced belly button dancing enticingly. Her jeans started below it, clinging to her hips and long legs that seemed to go on, the rhinestones on her belt winking at him in the flashing lights.

Draco felt hot, and his clothes suddenly felt too tight. He had never seen a girl dance with such abandon, and so sensually. He himself was a good dancer and saw that the girl was good too. Her tall, lithe and invitingly curvaceous body moved very gracefully with the music, and so suggestively Draco was amazed boys hadn't mobbed her already. There seemed to be many of them around her, but were keeping their distance.

And then the girl stopped dancing and made her way directly towards him. Draco's heart stopped momentarily, and then started beating with double the speed. Cool it, Draco, you are the best, and girls just cant resist you, he told himself. He took several deep, calming breaths, and focused on the girl. He had never seen her before, but whoever she was, she had more than made up for all the nonsense he had been subjected to by Pansy today.

As he watched, the girl approached the counter and snapped her fingers to catch the attention of the barman. Draco was right beside her, inhaling a scent that reminded him of a moonlight cruise on a gondola in Venice. Heady. Just then, the girl spoke up to the barman.

"Water. One bottle."

The barman looked her over suggestively, and asked sneeringly, "Are you joking?"

The girl stiffened and raised her eyebrows at the man, and putting her hands on her hips, asked in an impassive tone, "Do I look like I am?"

The barman leered at her, and said, "Well, sometimes you never know." The next moment, a wand was pushed against the base of his throat as his eyes started bulging. "Water. One bottle." The girl repeated. "Or should I find it myself?"

The barman backed away from her, massaging his neck with one hand, and handed out one bottle of water to her. His leeriness was gone, Draco noticed as he witnessed the entire incident.

The girl opened the bottle and started drinking from it thirstily, managing to finish half of it in one go. Then she downed the rest of the water on her head, and it ran down her face, down her neck, wetting her sweaty top further, making it cling to her even more suggestively.

Draco's eyes followed the little rivulets of water, and he suddenly felt thirsty, wanting to lick them with his tongue, and her skin with it. His eyes traveled lower, and he could make out the outline of her lacy bra through her wet top, and felt a shudder go through him. Lower still, and her flat abdomen and curvy waist, slick with sweat, seemed to invite him to put his hands round her and pull her to him. And now that she was so close, he could see the ornament that she wore on her belly button; a small ring, on which dangled a small chain that ended in a bolt of lightning. Draco suddenly wanted to know how it would taste in his mouth. Stop it, man, he raged at himself suddenly. Stop behaving like an idiot who has never seen a girl before. But he had never seen a girl before who was so confident with her sexuality.

Draco closed his mouth consciously, and turned to look at the barman instead. The barman had not been able to discipline himself like Draco, however, and was standing there with his mouth hanging open, staring at the girl as though struck with lightning. The girl noticed this, and flicked the empty bottle at him, which spun around a couple of times in the air before lodging itself neck-first in the man's gormless mouth, making him gag.

Draco burst out laughing at the man. This was a girl with attitude, he decided. A girl worthy of being known by a Malfoy. He fell into step with her as she turned to go back to the dance floor.

"That was cool. The wretched man was asking for it, anyway. By the way, I am Dr…" But he was cut off by the girl who spoke without looking at him.

"Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. Head Boy of Hogwarts, Slytherin Prince and Devil Incarnate." Her voice remained impassive.

Draco was pleased that the girl knew him. At least knew about him. Maybe she went to Hogwarts. But he was surprised how he could have missed her. Maybe she was a sibling or cousin to someone who went to Hogwarts. She didn't seem too friendly, but he was not unduly bothered. After all, he was not Hogwarts Sex God for nothing.

He tried again. "I didn't catch your name..."

"Could be because I didn't throw it." The girl's voice was dry.

Draco felt slightly rattled at the girl's unresponsiveness. Okay, one last time.

"I've never seen you around. Are you…" But again, the girl cut him off. This time she stopped and looked him squarely in the eye, and Draco felt she looked vaguely familiar.

"Well, since you are never able to see the snitch either in time, I am not really surprised. Have a good day, or whatever's left of it." With that, the girl disappeared among the dancers.

Draco was furious at being insulted. He took his wounded ego back to the bar counter and downed his firewhisky in one go. The bitch, he thought viciously. What does she think of herself, anyway! And who is she, thinking she can talk like that to THE Draco Malfoy! And that bit about his never seeing the snitch on time hurt. Heck, he had always got the snitch, except of course whenever they were playing against Gryffindor. He suddenly wanted to crack Potter's skull open with his bare hands. Yes, he thought savagely, that would feel good.

Inspite of blood pumping in his head because of her, Draco couldn't help his eyes wandering in her direction again. He spotted her at once. This time she was dancing with her back to him, moving sinuously with the music. Draco admired the way her butt moved with the music, and saw an over-eager boy push towards her. Draco recognized him…a sixth year Ravenclaw. The boy was dancing deliberately close to her, making sure he bumped into her a couple of times. The third time, he put a hand oh-so-casually on her butt, and the next instant, the girl turned around and kneed him.

Ooof! Draco winced as he saw, that must've hurt. Hope the boy remains a boy after that! He was still down on the floor, doubled up in pain and clutching his crotch. The girl had gone back to dancing, and the rest of the boys around her had pushed away even more than before. Wonder who else had got the same treatment before I got here, Draco sniggered. His mood had improved considerably since the incident, as he reflected with some satisfaction that his humiliation had been totally private and thankfully, not so physical. He looked at the girl regretfully. He would've loved to make a move on her, but then, he reasoned with himself, he had to think about the future generations of Malfoys. They were all depending on him, he smirked.

**A/N:** A dramatic chapter, wouldn't you say? Anyways, to all those who have reviewed, thank you so much, please keep doing it. To all those who haven't, well, whats stopping you? Just drop a line and win my eternal gratitude. :-)


	6. Revenge is Sweet

**Disclaimer:** J K Rowling is my penname. Seriously.

Monday morning found the seventh years back in the corridor outside their Potions classroom in the dungeons. Draco was once again lolling against the wall with his eyes closed on the Slytherin side with Pansy hanging off his arm. He had not had a proper night's sleep since his meeting with that siren in the Hag's Tales on Saturday night. And when he had been able to sleep, he had dreamt of her dancing to slow, seductive music in skimpy clothes under a waterfall, with him entwined around her running his hands freely over her lithe body, hearing her moan in pleasure.

Shit. Not that again. He opened his eyes in annoyance and frustration. He was seriously annoyed with himself for not being able to stop thinking about her. Nobody, but nobody treated Draco Malfoy like that. And he felt frustrated because he couldn't do anything about it. How could he plan a proper revenge if he didn't even know the girl! She still seemed vaguely familiar, and he still couldn't place her.

Hermione stood between Harry and Ron on the other side. She and Ron had not quarreled for a long time. In fact, they had not spoken with each other for a long time. Ron had failed to ask her out for the weekend, and she had shut herself up in her dormitory and studied the whole weekend through, turning a deaf ear to the loud knockings on her portrait door.

She had been studying hard even last evening in their common room when Draco had walked in. That was the first she had seen of him over the weekend. She supposed he had been spending his weekend in the Slytherin common room with his friends. Or with Pansy-the Pug, not that it bothered her, she told herself.

He had stopped short on seeing her, a quizzical smile on his face. Hermione had readied herself for being laughed at again, but was also strangely glad on seeing him. Merlin, but was he a sight for sore eyes! Nobody should be allowed to look that good, she had thought crossly.

"Studying, Granger, and on Sunday evening too! Didn't the Weasel ask you out?" he had started mocking her right away, saying the first word as though it was downright dirty.

"Its none of your business, Malfoy. And a bit of studying never hurt anyone." She had managed to retort waspishly. Really, Ron was making her a spectacle with his indifference.

That had seemed to amuse him, and he had laughed. As he'd settled down on the plush armchair by the fire, he had swept his gaze over her, taking in her attire. She was dressed in her favorite oversized T-shirt and loose Capri's for comfort. He had then tilted his head to one side, and then looking into her eyes, had said with a half-smile on his lips, "You know something, Granger! I am going to give you some friendly advice. If you want boys to ask you out, even good-for-nothing louts like Weasley, stop floating around in circus tents. It will help."

Hermione had been really offended by that, and had got up in a huff to leave him to laugh away his twisted sense of humor. She had been so glad to see him, but he had to drag Ron into everything, and spoil it all.

Hermione came out of her reverie and looked up to see the boy in question gazing at her fixedly. She blushed and looked away. When she looked up again, he was still staring at her. When she looked closely though, she saw the glazed look in his eyes…he was somewhere else!

Unknown to her, Draco was planning different ways to avenge his insult of Saturday night. The only problem was, he lost the objective of his thoughts halfway through, and got lost in fantasizing. Or remembering. Shit. This was not working, he cursed himself inwardly. To get over the Ultimate Brush-off, he had allowed Pansy to fuss over him the entire remaining weekend, with the result that now she had a glow in her eyes and positively radiated as though she had found the love of her lifetime. And that worried him slightly.

Just as he was focusing on his many woes, the chief cause of his discomfiture walked in. He just couldn't believe it. It was her…in flesh. Wearing the Hogwarts uniform. And Gryffindor colors. Shit.

Sia walked in casually, with a lithe, innate grace that was effortless, and felt every pair of eyes on her. Which was just as it should be, she thought smugly. Her hair was open today, and their dark, wavy length framed her face and fell over her shoulders in elegant indifference. Her robe was loosely tied round her neck, and open all the way, showing her tight-fitting shirt with top two buttons undone. Her tie was looped rather loosely so the view was unhindered. Her skirt just shied away from being shockingly short, but only just. Her bag was slung over one shoulder, while the other hand was playing with a Gryffindor scarf. Her bare legs seemed to be inviting a lot of scrutiny, and her usually impassive face was alive with a hidden mischief that made her eyes twinkle and her mouth to form a small smirk, all signs of severity on her features gone. Draco's siren had arrived.

She smiled a 'hi' to Neville, who spluttered, and nodded at Parvati and Hermione. She winked at Harry, making his eyes to go wide, and propped herself up against the wall beside Neville. Then she looked up at the Slytherin line-up, giving everyone a once over. Her eyes seemed to linger on Zabini, and Draco felt his stomach tighten. But then she just smiled at him and moved on. Ultimately, she reached him, and held his eyes. Draco forced himself not to blink. After a few moments she smirked and reached into her bag, and took out a small piece of parchment and a quill, and wrote something on it. Then she straightened up, crushed the small piece into a loose ball, and lobbed it at him. Draco caught it automatically with his free hand, and shook his other arm away from a flabbergasted Pansy to smooth it out to read. On it were two words-Sia Raisingh.

Inspite of promising himself a hundred times over to throttle her with insults whenever he set eyes on her, Draco couldn't help but laugh softly. It was like they were continuing their conversation where they had left off. So she had thrown her name at him after all; well, he had certainly caught it. And she was flirting with him. He smirked at her. But Sia was now looking at her watch. Then she looked straight at Pansy, who was speechless with rage. That was really something, for Pansy was seldom speechless, unless of course, when he was kissing her, Draco thought. Sia then raised her eyebrows at her, knowing full well what was going through the girl's mind. Suicide, Draco decided.

Sure enough, Pansy burst out in a fit of venomous rage. How dare this henchwoman change her appearance and flirt with HER Draco, right in front of her eyes! Her first weapon, as always, was ridicule.

"So, Raisingh, being good at Transfiguration seems to have helped you a lot. How many spells did it take to change your appearance?" The Slytherins girls broke into gleeful laughter; the boys were still inspecting Sia's legs.

Draco raised his eyebrows; Pansy was rather good at insulting, and seemed to be getting better everyday. Sia, however, smiled secretively, and looked at her watch again. Then she fixed her eyes on Pansy, and addressed Hermione, who was taken by surprise.

"Hey HG! You know all the rules around this place. So tell me the one regarding pets that we are allowed to have."

"Er…owls, and toads, rats, I suppose, and cats." Hermione managed to speak out, not seeing where Sia was going.

"Is that all? Are you sure?" Sia asked disbelievingly, raising her eyebrows at Hermione, who nodded.

"Then how come _he_ gets to keep a pug as a pet? Or are the Heads allowed special privileges?" Sia asked clearly, pointing one long finger at Draco dramatically, catching him off guard. As color seeped into Draco's face and Pansy paled visibly, the students around them burst into laughter, Harry and Ron holding on to each other lest they fall down. Even Neville was snickering, and Hermione was laughing with her hands on her mouth, not wanting to laugh out loud with respect to the dignity of her position, but glad Pansy was getting something back.

Pansy had now a shade of red on her cheeks to rival Ron's. She was not going to take this lying down, and started on a barrage of insults to shame any individual to tears. Sia, however, calmly tied her hair with her scarf, and started buttoning up her robes. Draco was astonished at her weird behavior, and had a gut feeling that something was not right. He tried to shush Pansy, but there was no stopping her now. She was now starting on Sia's family. Sia meanwhile, had finished with her robe, and was now standing somberly, with her head bowed, looking very much like her previous incarnation. Everybody else had fallen silent at this transformation in her, confusion in every eye.

Pansy thought Sia had backed down due to the unpleasant dressing down she was giving her, and went on relentlessly. Sure enough, Sia now looked close to tears.

Just then, a stern voice rang out, "Miss Parkinson, do hold your tongue. How dare you use such awful language? Twenty points from Slytherin, and a detention for you, for harassing a fellow student and using abusive language towards her family. I expected better behavior from a seventh year, specially with the Head Boy and Girl present." Professor McGonagall stood there, staring furiously from Pansy to Draco to Hermione. Needless to say, blood had drained from Pansy's face.

Just then, the classroom door opened, and Snape stood framed there, taking in the scene before him. McGonagall spoke to him, "Ah, Severus, I had come to seek your opinion on a very serious matter. I was just talking with Pomona, and she thought it was best we consult you. If you could come right now…?"

Snape nodded, and added to the class, "Into the classroom, and start working. The instructions are on the board. No talking." And they left.

As soon as they had walked away, Sia looked up straight at Pansy, her eyes full of malicious laughter, not a trace of the tears that had been threatening to fall earlier. "Timing, Parkinson, is everything." And she winked at her, before disappearing into the class, leaving a fuming Pansy and a bemused Draco behind.

This, however, was not the end of it. Sia put up her things next to Neville, much to the chagrin of the other boys from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Once settled, she took a look at the board. There were the instructions Snape had left, to brew the 'Draught of Living Death'. How appropriate, she thought. There was the usual hustle-bustle of students getting the required ingredients from the cupboard, during which, Sia managed to trip Millicent Bulstrode. "Oops, sorry," she said innocently.

Once back at her desk, Sia started to unbutton her robe. Every eye was again on her. She calmly unbuttoned it the whole way, and then undid one more button on her shirt, drawing whistles and catcalls of "Nice scenery, Raisingh!" But she ignored them all, and proceeded to untie her hair once again. That done, she pulled out her shirt from her skirt and tied up the tails above her waist, exposing a wide band of her skin. The boys in the room drew in a collective sigh at the blatant skin show never before attempted in a Potions class in Hogwarts.

Draco, even while enjoying the show, couldn't help but feel a sense of uneasiness. He again had that gut feeling that this girl was up to something. And considering that this was Snape's class, he was sure there were going to be some fireworks. He just hoped he would not be made the butt of another joke.

As Snape walked into the class after a considerable time, he felt the difference in atmosphere even before seeing anything amiss. He stared suspiciously at Harry, but he, for once, looked innocent. Then he directed his gaze at Malfoy, who looked slightly out of breath and seemed to be perspiring a little. Strange, he thought. Then he proceeded with his rounds around the dungeon.

He was slightly disappointed that none of the Slytherins, not even Draco, had managed to brew the potion correctly. He turned impassively towards Neville, who, he was sure, would provide them all with some laughs. Just as he stopped near Neville, his gaze slipped past him to Sia, who was bending over her potion (which looked perfect), and showing a generous amount of…_what the heck_!

"Miss Raisingh", he barked, "Please cover up!" Hell, no wonder none of the Slytherins had brewed the potion correctly; they weren't able to concentrate. He turned towards Neville again, just as an annoyingly sweet voice reached his ears.

"But professor, if I do that, how will you be able to see?"

Snape froze. The class gasped. He turned around slowly to look at Sia, who was looking at him with an innocently quizzical expression on her face. Maybe he hadn't heard her correctly. He walked over to her menacingly, and glowered at her.

Sia continued to look innocently at him, and asked again, as though making her point clearer.

"Professor, if I cover up the potion, how will you be able to see if I got it right? I mean, none of the others have covered up their potions. Or is it a new… technique?" she emphasized the last word.

Snape mentally hit himself over the head for walking into that one. His eyes narrowed as he pounded out through his clenched teeth, "I did not refer to the potion, Miss Raisingh. I referred to your inappropriate attire."

"Oh! But do you like what you see?" Sia asked again just as Snape was about to turn away. His eyes widened in shock as they locked with hers. "The potion, sir. Is it any good?" Sia elucidated helpfully.

Snape could actually feel his ears burn and turned away blindly, wanting nothing else but to get away from this crazy girl who seemed to be…he couldn't even bring himself to say it. _Crazy teenager_, he seethed. But just as he turned away, Sia whipped out her wand and made the bundle of knotgrass lying on Pansy's desk opposite to hers to fall down in the front. Pansy came forward to retrieve it just as Snape took a blind step in her direction, resulting in a collision. Snape managed to balance himself after making huge windmills in the air with his arms, while Pansy fell back towards her desk. The whole class was snickering by the time Snape managed to regain his balance, and he lashed out at the person in front of him, which was hapless Pansy.

"Miss Parkinson, how dare you disrupt my class! Ten points from Slytherin!" he bellowed. Just then the bell rang, and it was none too soon for Snape, who felt that maybe the time had come for him to take a little vacation.

* * *

That night, Sia was a heroine in the Gryffindor common room. None of the seventh years who were in the potions class that morning could stop recounting what she had done, or stop laughing. Not only had she managed to get a detention for Parkinson, she had also made Snape mad enough for him to take points off his own house! Something that had never happened before. And not a single point was taken off from Gryffindor! Ron was having a field day, doing spirited imitations of Snape waving his arms energetically as he tried to regain his balance. This, he reflected, was good enough to accept Sia as a true Gryffindor, and he forgave her for everything she had said or done since coming here magnanimously.

Dean was regaling Seamus with details of Sia's skin show, as she was now modestly covered up, and the latter's eyes were getting rounder by the moment as he looked her over.

Ginny was amused, to say the least. Hermione had told her earlier about Sia helping her, and now she considered Lady Malfoy in new light. Sia had managed to remind her of Fred and George, whom everyone who knew them missed greatly. But still, there was something that she needed to know…

"How did you know McGonagall would go down there, and exactly at what time?" she couldn't quite mask the accusatory tone in her voice.

Sia smiled at her. "I had heard her and Sprout talking earlier, and she mentioned something about talking with Snape after depositing some scrolls of parchment in her office. I just calculated the time it would take for her to get there. Timing, as I told Pugkinson earlier, is everything." She smiled again, earning wows and aahs from the admiring Gryffindors.

Harry was intrigued by the new girl. Her change of appearance had taken him by surprise, and the turn of events today had, well, tickled him like nothing else had done in a long time. Whenever he thought about Snape's shocked face or Snape behaving like a windmill, he couldn't help but smile widely. Anything that gave Snape a bad time was good for him.

Sia sat in the middle of it all, basking in all the glory. Which should've been mine long ago, if it weren't for my meddling parents, she thought. Smiling, she turned her eyes towards Harry. My next target, she thought.

* * *

Somewhere not very far from them, a man was shrieking in agony as a woman stood over him with blazing eyes, using the Cruciatus Curse on him.

"We are not to draw attention to ourselves, I think you had been told."

The man couldn't hear her, for he was still screaming with unbearable pain.

**A/N:** Theres a little box down there that holds magic in it. I swear! Just click it and see! :-)


	7. Girls Just Wanna have Fun

Gryffindors eagerly awaited the potions class the next day. A grateful Neville took particular care to stand next to Sia, hopeful that Sia would once again divert Snape's attention to herself, and he would once again be blissfully left alone.

Snape had found a way to get past the rude shock that he had been given the day before. He was now no longer breathing down the students' necks, but contented himself with sitting at his desk and waiting for the students to bring the corked samples of their work for that day. He eyed Sia malevolently; no other student, apart from Harry, of course, had ever given him any reason to back down. Potter was a bitter pill that he had had to swallow from time to time, mainly because of Dumbledore. The way he had smuggled Sirius out from under the nose of Fudge himself, and deprived him of an Order of Merlin, still rankled. Not to mention a number of things he couldn't pin on him, knowing full well that it was his doing- be it the ingredients stolen from his cupboards, or his frequent nighttime wanderings that would have resulted in several detentions. That flying car episode still made him seethe with disappointment…he had been so sure that Potter would be expelled.

He sighed and looked at Sia again. He had never been confronted with such weapons before. The girl was certainly smart enough to realize that. But she didn't know yet just how vicious he could get.

Sia was dressed provocatively again, though she had left her shirt tucked in today. The length, or the lack of it, of her skirt, and the tightness of her shirt was all she had done. She knew Snape would not be as shocked twice, and she had no desire to be the cynosure of gawping eyes of the male population as she tried to focus on her work. However, most of the boys still stole glances at her, and Draco had breathing troubles yet again.

A little before the bell rung, Snape ordered all of them to cork their samples and bring them to him. The class obeyed, and just as Sia turned away from his desk, she heard a shattering noise behind her. She turned back slowly to look at Snape, and saw her flask lying shattered at Snape's feet. Snape smiled evilly at her, and said, "Oops. Tough luck, Miss Raisingh." Harry was reminded of Snape pulling this dirty trick on him.

Sia smiled innocently at Snape, and replied in dulcet tones, "Oh, I am so sorry, professor. I am extremely clumsy. That's why I always fill an extra flask." And with that, she pulled out another corked sample from her robes, and handed it to Snape who now looked murderous. Sia half-turned as if to go away, and Snape's hand moved to the edge of the table; but then Sia turned back and told him brightly, "As a matter of fact, I have several more samples all corked and ready, professor. I don't want to lose marks because of my clumsiness, you see." With that, she made her escape; as she was sure Snape would have hexed her to hell if she had stayed there.

Her work was done, anyway. Gryffindor had again got away without losing any points, and hopefully Sia would think up something new for the next class. Thankfully the bell also rang then.

Draco was impressed with the girl. A glamour doll with brains and smartness. Too bad she was a Gryffindor and not a pureblood. But he felt he had to give credit where it was due. He saw Sia momentarily alone up ahead, and hurried up to her.

"Hey Raisingh, how come you are not in Slytherin?"

Obviously, he felt being a Slytherin was the ultimate compliment you could hope to get. Sia was not amused, though. She stopped and looked him directly in the eye. Draco noticed that it was a habit of hers…either she wouldn't look at you at all, or she would look right into your eyes.

"Have you seen any good-looking girls in Slytherin, Malfoy?" she asked bluntly.

"I…what?" he seemed nonplussed.

"That's why." Sia answered with a smirk.

Draco smiled, inspite of the fact that he should've felt bad for his house. But he had been behaving weirdly around her. There was some truth in her statement anyway. But still, he should really stop smiling so much…it was ruining his image.

Sia was momentarily Stunned; this was the first time she had seen him smile, and at such close quarters. His beautiful mouth was open, revealing perfect teeth…and his eyes were dancing merrily-silver pools in which she found herself floundering. Gosh, he could kill with smiles, she thought. She blinked to cover her confusion.

Draco saw his advantage at once; he was a keen observer of such things. So Miss Smarts was not immune to his charms…nobody was. He leaned forward slightly, pressing his advantage, and whispered close to her ear, "You need to watch out…Snape is not a pushover."

Sia fought to breathe normally, and not to inhale his spicy-cool scent deeply. She had a strong urge to lean into him, or to pull him close. He was smiling at her again, sure that he had got to her. As she fought for control over her senses, Sia sorely wanted to say something to show him that she was unaffected by his proximity, but her normally efficient brain seemed to have jammed. As she cast around desperately, she noticed Harry, Ron and Hermione coming up behind him…no doubt worried that Malfoy was giving her a bad time. And just behind them, Parkinson was stomping towards them, looking highly suspicious and enraged at the same time. Sia smiled inwardly and thanked Heavens for this face-saver.

She leaned towards Draco conspiratorially and whispered, " You need to watch out too, your pug looks angry", and gestured towards Parkinson with her eyes. As Draco whipped around and saw Pansy, Sia laughed softly. And then, all four were upon them.

Pansy eyed Sia nastily, and said, "Trying to smarmy up to the Head Boy, Raisingh, or trying to get him to kiss you?"

The next instant Sia's wand was pushed against Pansy's lower lip even as Sia looked at her almost benevolently. "You do realize, Parkinson, that I can Transfigure you into the real bitch that you are without any difficulty," Sia began softly. "The only reason I don't do it is because it would be such a waste of time…you would still have the same face, and you would still be licking the same guy." With that, she raised her eyebrows in Draco's direction.

Ron doubled up with silent laughter, and Harry and Hermione stifled their own laughter and settled for a snicker. Sia blew a kiss to Draco, winked at a thunderstruck Pansy rubbing her lower lip, and left with her newly acquired friends. Pansy glared after her, angry beyond reason; but when she looked at Draco, she felt a stab of pain. Draco didn't look angry. In fact, he looked amused.

* * *

Later that day, Hermione was sprawled out on her bed on her belly, listening to Ginny recount the latest gossip, as Sia listened on mildly amused. What with the recent turn of events, Sia had entered their circle without any fanfare. Ron had announced to the whole common room after classes that day what Sia had said to Parkinson. Sia had been besieged with questions and well-done thumps, and Hermione had rescued her by dragging her to the Head's dorm with Ginny.

In Hermione's room, the three girls were spending some quality 'girl-time' together. Sia had told them some rather funny stories about the boys at Beauxbaton's, and Hermione had recounted some of the adventures she had had with Harry and Ron over the years. Sia was actually envious of their close friendship. Ginny had told them about growing up with Fred and George, and had them all in splits. They learned that Sia had a younger sister, Kiara, who was now in her fifth year at Beauxbatons. But although they talked much, neither Ginny nor Hermione noticed that Sia was not quite forthcoming on details about her personal life. However, she had much to say on the subject of boys.

"So, HG, how far have you and Ron got?" Ginny giggled as Hermione frowned. The girl was quite blunt and straightforward.

"Er…got where?"

"C'mon, girl…don't hedge. I know you like him, though I just don't know why, with due apologies, Ginny. I mean, apart from the fact that you both have been best friends to your best friend for over six years now, what else have you got in common?" Sia was inquisitive to a fault, reminding Hermione of Malfoy more than ever.

"We are…we…well, we have known each other for a long time now…and Ron is a very nice person." Hermione was sure about the last part.

There was no escaping Sia, however. She just smiled knowingly as she looked at her, and winking at Ginny, continued.

"Of course he is, dearie. But you don't go to bed with a 'nice person'. You go to bed with someone who makes you want to go to bed with him. What say, Ginny?"

Hermione blushed a deep red at that. She had not been able to imagine herself in bed with Ron yet. Ginny, however, giggled some more, and seemed to agree with Sia.

"Tell me, Ginny", Sia continued, baiting Hermione. "Do you want to sleep with Harry because he is a nice person, a hero, the Chosen One, or because his kisses make your blood sing?"

Ginny smiled mischievously, and added blithely, "Definitely the latter. And make no mistake, Hermione, I am going to sleep with him before the year is out."

"Ginny Weasley!" Hermione admonished in a way that reminded Ginny of her mother, and she giggled even more. Sia smirked at Hermione, and blew a kiss at Ginny.

"So, HG, what it boils down to is…do you want to sleep with Ron? And not just sleep, mind you, but do all that you are supposed to do with a guy in sheets. Hmmm?" Sia raised her eyebrows at Hermione impishly.

Hermione blushed to a color that was more Ron's than hers. She decided not to rescue Sia again if that meant this sort of interrogation…and on such a topic! And Ginny, the turncoat that she was, seemed to be enjoying herself thoroughly. Well, an honest answer to that was impossible to imagine, she thought. She was good at working things out, not at imagining them. That was more an area of Harry's expertise. If she started going out with Ron, as she wanted to, then naturally, she supposed, they would do 'all that was supposed to be done', at some stage in their relationship. She blushed again. This girl was devil-incarnate, Hermione thought petulantly as she saw Sia looking at her with an amused expression; she really enjoys setting the cat among the pigeons. But then she thought about Ron again, and blushed yet again.

After what seemed like ages, Hermione, blushing profusely, nodded.

Ginny whooped loudly, and fell back on the bed, laughing, reminding Hermione of Ron. Sia smiled wickedly, and clapped her hands gleefully. "Bravo! So the blushing bride finally says 'I do'."

"Allright. So we've established this fact: HG wants to sleep with Ron." Hermione roused herself at that, and started spluttering and waving her hands frantically. Ginny laughed harder than ever. Sia, however, continued as though Hermione had not just behaved as though she was drowning.

"So, HG. How far have you got with Ron? I certainly haven't seen you both going out, or have you both been sneaking around?"

"Er…actually…ummm…" Hermione cast around for a way to put things across in a dignified manner, just as Ginny took away the winds from her sail.

"What she means is, Ron, being the utter fool that he is, hasn't had the guts to ask her out yet." Ginny said bluntly.

"Or, in other words, Ron, being the typical boy that he is, has been taking HG for granted, and not noticing her as he should." Sia announced.

"He has been rather busy…what with the homework and quidditch and…" Hermione was up in his defense automatically.

"Harry, I believe, has the same amount of homework, even more of quidditch with him being the captain, and a lot more on his plate besides, and yet I don't see Ginny moping around."

"I am not moping around either." Hermione was stung.

"You shouldn't anyway. That's not the way he will notice you. You have to do something really drastic if you want to motivate him to shed his inhibitions and unbutton your shirt."

"_Sia_! I don't want him to…" Hermione was shocked.

"You just admitted you want to sleep with him. If you want to sleep with your shirt on, you are not going to go much far. He will just find someone else, shirtless, and skirtless too."

Hermione was shocked at such language, but she couldn't deny the truth in Sia's words. That was part of the reason that had driven Ron to Lavender last year. She was too much of a 'friend', and less of a 'girl'.

She looked up at the two girls in front of her. Both looked sympathetic. Allright, so I need to swallow my pride and ask for help. However, the moment her expression changed, words were not needed. Both the girls jumped to her rescue.

"Hermione", Ginny began understandingly, "You need to follow your own advice. The one you gave me when I was moping for Harry. Live your life, look around, and go out a bit with someone else. Harry became jealous and realized his feelings for me only when he saw me with Dean."

Hermione shook her head at that. She had already tried that last year, with McLaggen, and the results had been disastrous for her. And Ron still refused to understand her relationship with Viktor Krum. If things got ugly between them because of such petty issues, Harry would ultimately suffer, and with battles looming ahead, she didn't want Harry distracted because of them.

"C'mon, Hermione, be a sport. If you don't show him you don't care, he will go through this entire year without asking you out." Ginny implored. "And I'm not asking you to fall for another guy, just let him think he has competition."

Hermione, however, continued to shake her head. Who knew what Ron would do if he got suitably angry! She wasn't about to take chances. And she didn't want to endanger another Gryffindor by making him the object of Ron's ire.

Sia watched Ginny and Hermione trade off reasons for and against taking such a step, and was secretly amused at the contrast between the two girls. But as their arguments became drawn out, she started losing her patience, and decided to take matters in her hand.

"Look, HG, and Ginny," she began. "Neither is fretting and not doing anything going to work, nor is only snogging another guy in front of Ron. It would be so obvious. We need something else. And anyway, what guy would HG snog? Not Dean or Seamus, surely, or Neville! We don't want bloodshed in the Gryffindor commonroom. No no no…" Sia got up off the bed and started pacing the room restlessly as she thought, the other two girls watching her curiously.

Suddenly, she turned around to stare at Hermione, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Of course!" she breathed, "Why didn't I think of him before?"

"Think of whom?" Hermione was a bit apprehensive.

"Malfoy, of course!"

"_What_! Sia, are you out of your mind? He's a shark, he would eat Hermione alive! And besides, what about Ron? Don't you think he will kill Malfoy if he so much as touches Hermione?" Ginny nearly yelled as she sat up so fast she sent pillows flying..

"Calm down, Gin Gin." Sia was amused at her outburst. Really, this redhead was a fire-cracker; no wonder Harry was hooked.

"Look, I am not suggesting that HG sleep with him or anything. Or even ask him for help, lord forbid. He is so conceited it would probably make him float two inches above the ground. All I am saying is, we make Malfoy notice HG. He notices girls much more than Ron, and his taking notice of HG will make Ron take notice like nothing else will, believe me. Ron hates him with a passion, doesn't he?" Sia smirked.

"He does, but…what if they should come to blows?" Ginny was still skeptical.

"Who cares if they do? They both deserve a few socks, anyways. And if they do come to blows, I wouldn't worry about Ron killing Malfoy…I would be too busy praying for him." Sia had a twisted sense of humor, no doubt, Hermione thought.

"And how exactly does Hermione go about catching Malfoy's attention? By giving him a lap dance?" Ginny had already moved into the spirit of things.

"That would be too…dangerous." Sia smiled wickedly. "I mean, if Malfoy really decides to go for HG, Ron will be left high and dry, and we don't want that. All that she has to do is change her appearance a bit…you know, just a little bit of tweaking here and there, and he will be bound to notice. And then…" Sia rubbed her hands in anticipation.

"Er…don't I get a say in this?" Hermione found her voice at last, once she had gotten over the initial shock of what these two crazy girls were planning.

"Of course, HG. You can blush and say 'I do' once we've done planning," Sia waved her off.

"So what do you suggest?" Ginny asked Sia, looking at Hermione critically as though she were just a pesky fly and she was wondering how best to get rid of her.

"I think we should start by shortening the length of her skirt…just a bit, not drastically. Malfoy will probably drool all over her otherwise. He just has to notice…you know, look at her as though he's wondering what she looks like without her clothes. That will zap Ron."

"Wha…?" Shock was now a mild word for Hermione.

"And I suggest she straighten her hair a bit…you know, make her look more eye-catching that way." Ginny ran a hand over her straight locks.

"What do you mean more eye-catching? I have wavy hair missy, and I catch a lot of eyes, in fact, all the male eyes in Hogwarts."

"Ha ha. All except one. Harry has eyes only for me."

"That's because I don't want him to look at me that way. Otherwise, I would show you."

"Really? Why don't you try?"

"And when he's hooked good and proper, what do I do with him? I don't want to sleep with him…that's your ambition."

"What do you mean you don't want to sleep with him? Harry is a very passionate guy, I will have you know. And his kisses are divine, out-of-this-world. You don't know what you are missing."

"I don't want to know either. My tastes are different."

"And what exactly…"

"GIRLS! PLEASE!"

Hermione had been trying to get their attention for quite a while now, but finally had to yell to make herself heard above the two snarling lionesses. She didn't quite know just how or why their conversation had taken such a nasty turn.

Sia and Ginny backed down and looked abashed once they realized they had been quarreling over nothing at all. Hermione was amused at their flushed faces. Sia had a temper to match Ginny's, and that was saying something.

"So…er…back to me, I guess." She suggested into the uncomfortable silence that had settled in the room, trying her best to hide her smile.

Sia seized on the opportunity with both hands. She didn't take kindly to being laughed at; not when she could defend herself now, without her parents' meddling noses.

"As I was saying, HG, Malfoy just has to give you a second glance…not ignore you like he normally does at classes. If he stares at you interestedly for ten seconds, ten gets you one Ron will notice."

"And as I was about to say, Hermione, you can make things move a little faster by being nice to him…I mean, you live together. You will have plenty of opportunities to make him inhale your perfume deeply. That will get him to look interested in classes."

Hermione looked shocked at what Ginny seemed to be suggesting…it was asking for trouble. An interested Malfoy could bring lots of complications, what with her practically living with him, and Ron's temper. And as Sia had pointed out already, Malfoy was much better at dueling than Ron, and better built too.

"Er…isn't this a bit like playing with fire?" Hermione decided to wave her feeble flag of resistance once more before she was subdued finally.

"It most definitely is," Sia smiled with genuine, wicked amusement this time. "But whats life without a little excitement?" This made even Ginny smile. "Besides," Sia continued, "You want to make a guy do naughty things to you. Such business cannot be conducted from inside a church, my dear…you have to get out into the streets for that. So, welcome to the streets." She smiled devilishly, and Ginny joined in with her giggles. Hermione looked at them both helplessly, and joined in with her laugh.

* * *

Later that night, as Hermione lay in her bed, she couldn't help but giggle to herself as Sia's words conjured an image of Ron in her mind…looking at her differently…asking her out…telling her she looked beautiful. And then, a Ron who kissed her, and lay on top of her in bed…Hermione turned over as she hugged her pillow to herself. And then, she imagined Ron bending over her mouth as he weighed her down on her mattress with a delicious weight, and her eyes closed as she imagined his blue orbs getting closer. Her lips puckered up to receive the imaginary kiss and she let her tongue touch her lips and the sweet cavern of her mouth delicately as she imagined his tongue doing the same. When she pictured Ron breaking the kiss and gently withdrawing after that wonderful kiss, to her horror, she saw that the eyes her mind had conjured receding from her were gray, sparkling below soft platinum locks. She gasped and sat up, her hand on her wildly beating heart. _What am I thinking_!!!

**A/N:** Seriously, how lazy can you get? Yes, you there! C'mon, start execising, and start that by moving your hand over your mouse, directing the pointer to that little purple button . There! Now depress your finger to click on that button, and then use your fingers to type some meaningful words about this chapter and story. Yep, this exercise should be enough for today. LOL. But really, I need feedback people. This story has five times the number of alerts than it has reviews. How very lazy, tsk tsk. So how about that exercise?


	8. Hidden Agenda

The next morning as all of them waited outside their Potions classroom, Hermione fidgeted uncomfortably. Sia and Ginny had come up to her dorm before breakfast and had shortened her skirt by a considerable 6 inches. It was still modest compared to Sia's, but Hermione was not used to running around showing that much of her legs in school. And to top it all, she had been told very strictly by her two 'teachers' that she was not to look in Malfoy's direction at all, till she felt his eyes on her. This was easier said than done, she thought, as now her eyes seemed to want to do nothing else except look at him. Ron, of course, hadn't noticed anything about her appearance, just as Sia had predicted. But she was vexed because Malfoy didn't seem to have noticed either. He was still lolling against the wall, eyes closed, at peace with the world. _Damn him_! Hermione didn't like to think what else she would have to go through to catch his attention with her 'teachers' coming up with one wild idea after the other. And then there seemed to be something fundamentally wrong with the idea that in order to catch the attention of one guy, she would have to make another one notice her…and when the other guy was Malfoy, it was downright suicidal.

Draco was amused. He didn't show it, of course, but he was. He had noticed Granger's shortened skirt right away and such a small change had surprised him, given the fact that she was being tutored by Raisingh. He had seen her and Weaselette trooping up the stairs to Granger's dormitory earlier in the morning, and knew something was up. Granger was looking good, no doubt about it, but he wanted to laugh aloud at the fact that this subtle change had bypassed Weasley completely. He wanted to tell them that subtlety had no place in Weasel's world; if Granger was looking for attention from him, instead of shortening her skirt so infinitesimally, she should be walking around in a bikini. Now _that_ should open Weasel's eyes! He felt a delicious shiver slide down his spine at the thought of Granger in a bikini but almost immediately schooled himself: Granger is not a girl, Draco; she is a tool that will get you in the good books of Potter if ever the need arises. So stay away from her, and don't let your hormones come in between. And anyway, there were a lot of outlets for relieving raging hormones…he opened his eyes and looked at Sia, and was taken aback at the scowl he received from her. What have I done now, he thought wonderingly. She was looking daggers at him, as though Weasley not noticing Granger was _his_ fault. Crazy Gryffindors! And he closed his eyes again.

Potions class that day was a disaster, at least for Sia. Not only did the jerk called Malfoy fail to evince the smallest bit of interest in Hermione, but she had also got a detention from Snape. She had been so busy concentrating on Malfoy's non-existent reaction to Hermione, and Ron's non-existent reaction to that, that she had quite forgotten that Snape would nail her the moment she let her guard down, and that's what had happened. She didn't relish a detention with Snape…he would make everything ten times horrible for her, if the evil gleam in his eyes was anything to go by. And all this for Ron…the perfect idiot who was so totally unfit for Hermione in every way, and who Sia herself wouldn't have looked at if he hadn't been Harry's best friend. What she didn't have to do to attain her goal, she sighed.

And so this continued for the entire week. Hermione would daily make a tiny bit of change in her appearance, and Malfoy would just as doggedly not notice her, and Sia would end up with a detention every other day. In the beginning, Sia and Ginny were pushing Hermione into it, but now Malfoy's steadfast refusal to acknowledge a change in her appearance was starting to get to her. When she went to bed on Friday night after another day of fruitless labor, she wondered whether she really was so bad looking that Malfoy wouldn't even raise an eyebrow at her. And if she wasn't bad looking, then what was wrong with him, was he in love? Was he gay? Was he a kinky pervert? Or something worse?

* * *

Draco woke up very early on Saturday morning and was annoyed by it. He had quidditch practice later that day but had meant to sleep till then. Now that he was up, however, he decided to get a little workout. Got to keep the hot bod in shape, he smirked to himself. Not wanting to wake up Granger who was having so many troubles with Weasel turning a blind eye to all her efforts, he quietly left the Heads dorm after putting on his tracksuit and headed towards the Room of Requirement. The corridors were deserted, and he allowed his mind to wander freely, from commiserating with Granger's luckless efforts to wondering on Raisingh's drop in mental faculties. The girl had served three detentions this week…three. And all from Snape! Pity, she had looked so promising at first.

As Draco reached the seventh floor corridor outside the Room, he concentrated on thinking about a place where he could work out, which would be equipped with whatever he needed. On his third turn, the door appeared and he grasped the knob, turned it and went inside.

Draco stepped inside and closed the door behind him, but as soon as he turned to face the room, he got the shock of his life. The room was a huge place…with all sorts of strange things inside it. There were a couple of wooden pillars standing in a corner, with what looked like a sword lying beside them. Behind that was what looked like a grass court of some sort, with a net dividing it from the middle. Beyond that were a couple of huge mirrors facing each other. But what caught his attention was just before him…a line of piles of bricks arranged in different ways, some wooden slabs arranged on some bricks, and right beside them, looking like she meant to chop a wooden slab down with her bare hands, was Sia.

She was dressed in a tracksuit as well, a sky-blue colored one, the jacket zipped up to her chin. Her hair was tied behind her in a plait, and she again looked severe. Draco was standing near the door, which was in shadows, and he hadn't made a sound, which was why she hadn't noticed him. And anyways, her face was a picture of intense concentration as she brought down the side of her hand with a whiplash on that wooden slab, which broke in two. Draco raised his eyebrows…he couldn't have done it. He watched her wordlessly as she proceeded to demolish several more items with hands in a similar fashion, and the place was filled with pieces of splintered wood and broken bricks. Tough, Draco decided, this girl is really tough.

Next, she moved on to kicking the air with her legs, emitting strange sounds from her mouth as she did so. Draco found it comical. But then, she ran at the wooden pillars, and with one fluid movement, was balanced between them with each of her feet planted on a pillar, her legs forming a straight line. She remained in that position for a few moments, and then jumped down and picked up the sword.

Draco was mesmerized as he saw her swish the sword around her gracefully, sometimes charging and sometimes backing away from an unseen opponent. Her movements were fluid, one action smoothly flowing into another, even as she handled a potentially harmful weapon.

Sia seemed to be taking a momentary break, as she opened a bottle of water and drank from it thirstily. Then she unzipped her jacket and threw it off, revealing a zipped up teal blue top beneath. She picked up a towel off the floor and wiped her sweat, and Draco suddenly wished he could do that for her. Tough, but sexy.

Sia had still not noticed Draco, so intent was she on her workout. She proceeded to pick up, what appeared to Draco, a strange looking wooden club from the ground which had a handle at one end, and the other end was a framed oval with net in it. Then she picked up her wand from the ground and muttered something to a few balls lying around, which suddenly glowed green for a moment. Then she walked on to the grass court, balls in her hand, and stood on one side of the divider net, and hit one ball, and then the other, with her strange club. The balls traveled the length of the court, one after the other, and charged back at her after bouncing off the ground. Sia hit them back with tremendous force, and on and on it went.

After what could have been fifteen minutes or maybe more, Sia stopped what appeared to Draco her crazy antics and caught the balls in her hand as they hurtled at her. By that time, she was again bathed in sweat. This time she peeled off her pants, and Draco felt suddenly very hot himself without having moved a single muscle. Underneath she wore denim shorts with frayed edges. Not stopping at that, she tore off her top, revealing her sports bra, and picking up her towel again, started wiping away her sweat. Draco felt his knees go weak and slid down to the ground.

Next, Sia walked towards the mirrors and with her wand, motioned them to stand parallel to each other, their reflecting surfaces facing each other, about seven to eight feet apart, right beside the grass court. Then she put some spell on them so they glowed red for an instant. Draco was intrigued. What the heck was this girl going to do now? If she did any more of her strip tease routine, however, Draco decided he was going to run for it. After seeing her exhibition, he sure as heck wasn't risking his limbs with making a move on her, but neither could he take her raw sensuality that seemed to fill him with a gnawing hunger.

Sia stood poised between the mirrors, her feet wide apart, taking deep breaths, concentrating. She held her wand ready, as if poised for a duel, and lifted her feet one by one off the ground slightly, as though testing her flexibility. She needed to have all her wits about for this one. Then suddenly, she turned to one mirror and said a non-verbal spell, which rebounded, without breaking the glass, struck the other mirror and came straight at her. She quickly jumped out of the way, but by then it had rebounded again and was again coming at her. Sia jumped over it, and aimed another spell at the mirror, and now two spells were after her, making her jump around to avoid them as though she were standing bare feet on hot coals. Draco watched open mouthed as Sia aimed yet another spell at the mirrors, increasing her difficulties. The spells collided midway and shot off in different directions, sometimes avoiding Sia altogether, sometimes coming at her concurrently. Draco watched in horrific amazement as Sia was now being chased around by six spells, making her jump around like an accomplished acrobat. This strange, even dangerous game continued for about fifteen minutes, after which Sia suddenly catapulted herself out of that small corridor formed by the two mirrors, landing on the grass. She turned around immediately, and pointed her wand at the flashing mirrors and rebounding spells. The spells were lifted, and Sia lay down on the grass, completely winded.

Draco looked at her, lying flat on the grass, covered in sweat, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she took deep breaths. He suddenly had a vision, of her panting like that beneath him, sweaty and out of breath because he had made her so with his ardor. The vision was so real, he had to shake his head and blink several times to clear it. This was just not done, Draco, this girl can kill you without wand. Or at the very least, break a few of your bones.

Sia opened her eyes, her breathing, though still not normal, was less labored now. She turned her head slightly towards the door, and noticed light bouncing off something. Not sure what it was, she stood up, and started wiping away sweat from her legs. As she bent down, she stole a glance at the door, and was now able to make out a hazy outline…someone was sitting on the floor. Someone had been watching her, covertly, someone whose hair was reflecting that light as they moved their head. Whose hair reflected so much light, and who would watch her without making any sound at all? Certainly not a girl, and not a Gryffindor. Gryffindors believed in banging doors down, not in silent observation. Then who?

As Sia proceeded to wipe the sweat away from her arms and neck, the answer came to her- Draco Malfoy- the sly Slytherin with platinum blond hair. Sia quickly put on her jacket and zipped it up, and picked up her bottle for some more water, composing herself after that unnerving realization. She felt strangely embarrassed at the thought that he had been watching her while she was not aware of it. And while she was working out wearing just slightly more than nothing. The best way to get out of uncomfortable situations for her was simple-take the battle to the opponent.

"You are good to look at too," she spoke into the silence.

Draco started, shocked that she had noticed him while he had been daydreaming. Well, she had to sometime as he was sitting at the door, he reasoned, and stood up and walked into the light to stand in front of her. He felt slightly unsure at being caught like that, but covered it up with his smirk.

Sia saw him walk out towards her, his smirk in place. That confirmed her worst fear-he had seen it all. She felt distinctly disadvantaged, but raised her eyebrows at him.

"So… voyeurism is a hobby of yours, is it?"

A slight pink tinged his cheeks at that, but he smiled at her barb. "You really are good looking, Raisingh; in fact, I can say that you look…deadly." He put soft emphasis on the last word.

Sia had to smile at that. He had a way with words, she thought. "What are you doing here, apart from the obvious?" She really was curious to know how he had got inside the Room.

"I came here to work out, Raisingh, same as you. So you can relax…I don't need to resort to attacking helpless girls, alone in deserted rooms, to have my way with them." He gave her the benefit of his full smile as he leaned slightly closer, "My weapons and methods are slightly different, and shall we say…less lethal?."

Sia felt the familiar tug in her navel at his smile, but managed to ask amusedly, "Helpless girl? Anyone we know?"

Draco laughed outright. She was right, of course…there was nothing helpless about Sia, even if her wand was lying a few feet away from her. He had never met anyone like her, and he was amazed that he liked her toughness.

Sia saw Draco laugh, and felt a strange melting sensation inside her, his rich laughter touching her in strange places that she didn't know could be touched by a voice.. Nobody should be allowed to look that good, she thought.

Draco then looked around him, and asked her the one question he had been burning to ask her ever since he had entered that room. "Raisingh, what the heck were you doing out there? I've never seen anything like it."

"A lot of things. Some Karate, some Taekwondo, some tennis, and some reflexive training." At his blank look, she continued, "These are muggle techniques in unarmed combat, and tennis is a game, just for exercise."

Draco looked deep in thought as he looked around, his gaze resting on the mirrors. "And what was that mirror thing?"

"As I said, reflexive training. A training to improve your reflexes in a combat, when you are dealing with more than one opponent, and don't know where the next spell is coming from."

"Looks impressive. But what use are they to you, apart from the work out factor? You don't need unarmed training…you are a witch, not a muggle. And even if your work in Defence is…er… slightly off the mark, you don't need to resort to such drastic measures surely!"

Sia looked at him with narrowed eyes, certain he was making fun of her. What business was it of his anyways if she was bad at Defence?

Draco looked at her suspicious look, and couldn't hold his laughter in any longer. "C'mon Raisingh, what did you expect me to say? You cant even hex Weasley, and he is the most pathetic dueler I have ever seen, apart from Longbottom."

Sia's color slightly heightened and she looked down, unable to meet the gray eyes laughing at her. She knew she was bad…and here she was being laughed at for it. Well, she'd get over this, she had gotten over much worse.

And then the sound of laughter stopped, and Sia looked up to see Draco watching her intently. "I just cant figure it out, Raisingh…you are so good at some subjects, how can you be absolute rubbish at this one? I think you have a mental block or something…nothing else can explain it. Tell me, what is it?" Draco was genuinely intrigued, and Sia was shocked to hear him ask a question that had never been asked. Everyone had just laughed at her failure at DADA.

Not wanting to go into details, Sia just shrugged. But she was touched nonetheless that he had bothered to ask. There seemed to be more to Malfoy than met the eye, obviously. He was certainly a lot sharper than he seemed to get credit for.

Draco understood that Sia didn't want to discuss her DADA performance with him, so he left it at that. This surprised him; he had always got kicks out of tormenting other people, but then, he had more things to ask, anyway.

"Okay…forget about that. Tell me, why do you need to go into this entire muggle unarmed thing so much? Just for fun, or is it something else?"

Sia was glad at the change in subject, and decided to have some fun with him.

"Do you really want to know, or just asking?"

"I only ask when I really want to know."

"Okay…so hex me."

"What?" Draco was taken aback.

"I said, hex me, and I will show you why a witch or a wizard should bother with what I was doing. C'mon, now, I don't even have my wand."

That was true, as her wand was lying some three feet away on the ground. Well, Draco thought wryly, heres a Gryffindor asking to be hexed, so why not! And then he took out his wand and pointed it at her, only to be confronted by her wand practically shoved up his nose.

"Slow, aren't you? Lets try again, shall we?" Sia smirked as she threw down her wand again.

Draco wasnot really amused this time. Nobody laughed at Draco Malfoy, or called him slow. He'd show her.

"_Dunsaugeo_!" he snarled.

But Sia simply sidestepped his spell. "Try again, Malfoy. And this time, aim well." Dammit, she really was laughing at him. Draco's eyes turned glacial as he aimed at her.

"_Furnunculus_!"  
"_Stupefy_!"  
"_Incarcerous_!"

It was no use. Sia was too quick at jumping out of harm's way, and not a single spell hit her. And then he understood what her Reflexive Training was all about. This is what she had been practicing; how to defend yourself if you lose your wand! Well well well, so Miss Smarts knew something useful after all, he sneered to himself.

"If you can do this Raisingh, then how can you allow yourself to be hexed by the Weasel in every DADA class? Just to make him look good?" Draco mocked her, his eyes now cold and distant.

Sia looked away, thinking what to say to ward off his curiosity, and was suddenly lifted off her feet and slammed to the ground. Winded and shocked, she looked up to see Draco wiping his wand on his jacket. "The game was not over, Raisingh, and it never is until I say so." Then he smirked at her and turned away, satisfied at having the last word at last. He had thought too soon.

With a single lithe movement, Sia got up and took a running leap at him, slamming him to the ground and knocking the air out of him. Then she sat down on his back, her hands pressing his face in the grass, her legs holding his arms. "You didn't say the game was over, yet, Malfoy."

Draco mentally hit himself over the head for virtually handing this to her on a plate. His face was pressed deep in the grass, very firmly, and he had to hold his breath for fear of inhaling dirt. After a few moments, however, he felt the grip relax, so he took a deep breath after turning his face sideways. "You know, Raisingh, this position would be much more fun if I was lying on my back. But if you prefer it this way, I have no objections," he drawled out.

Sia flushed and jumped away from him as though burned. The cocky bastard! What had she been thinking! Draco laughed softly and got up, dusting off his clothes. He looked up at her, his eyes full of laughter, and saw her faint blush. He walked over to her, and bending slightly so that he was at her eye level, asked her softly, "Tell me why, Raisingh!"

His words wafted like a zephyr along her skin, giving her goose bumps. She was again disoriented, and looking blankly up at him, asked stupidly, "What why?"

Draco smiled at her confusion, knowing full well he was playing havoc with her senses, and enjoying every bit of it. Maybe he would get his answers this way. "If you are so good at this sort of defence, why let yourself get hexed?" He kept his voice soft and low, as though drawing a cosy, intimate circle around them, banishing the world beyond.

Sia didn't know what was happening. Some part of her brain was functioning, she was sure, but it was not very well coordinated to form logical thoughts. Seduced by his eyes and silky voice, she spoke without realizing it. "It's a sort of secret…I wanted to refine these muggle techniques to suit the magical population. And then…" She trailed off, staring wide-eyed into those mesmerizing gray eyes, so near to her.

"And then…?" Draco prompted softly, taking a gentle hold of her chin, his face inches from hers. Sia shivered.

"And then…I wanted to teach them to Harry, to help him in his fight against Voldemort and deatheaters...and anybody else who wanted to help him. A sort of secret weapon."

* * *

It wasn't until Sia was taking her shower sometime later that she climbed out of her wooziness and realized what had happened. She had told everything to Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin, when she had not yet trusted anyone else with her secret. She froze with horror and shock, water running down her body unheeded. She had actually blurted out the truth to him, how could she have been so stupid! And then the realization hit her; he had seduced her into telling him, not using anything except his eyes, his voice, and his proximity.

It was as though a sudden flame of anger erupted within her, consuming her entirely. She was so angry, she wanted to kill him, herself, and everybody she knew. She didn't know what angered her more, the fact that she had willingly told her plans to a Slytherin, or that Malfoy had got them out of her so easily without actually trying, or that he knew she was attracted to him and had used it to his advantage. She felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her, and buried her face in her hands; he knew she was attracted to him, the conceited git. And she had been so susceptible to his charms it was downright humiliating. Oh, he must be laughing at her now. Maybe even telling all his Slytherin friends how he had brought the high and mighty Raisingh to her knees.

And then, another nagging thought hit her. He knew what her state of mind at that time was…and yet, he hadn't used it any further. He could have taken her then and there, and she would probably have begged him to do that if he had so much as kissed her, or even touched her. But he hadn't. He had just stood looking at her for a few moments, or maybe several moments, she wasn't sure, and then had backed away with an enigmatic expression on his face. And then he had spoken, just one sentence, and very quietly, "I think you should now go and freshen up." Why had he said that! Surely it hadn't been her body odor, as she had been working out! Oh, the horror and the shame of it! Sia closed her eyes tightly in consternation; she had been dismissed without a kiss because she smelled bad. But wait a minute…what was she thinking! She should be angry because he had made a fool of her and pried her secret away, not wishing she should have been kissed by him. It was probably the best thing that had happened; if he had so much as touched her…Sia shuddered, it would have added insult to her injury, not that she wasn't already injured and insulted.

Sia felt a fresh wave of anger assault her, and got out of her shower and got ready. She had to do something to get even, or she wouldn't be able to face him ever. What should she do, maybe Obliviate the entire incident from his memory…that sounded good. And if he got his brains addled in the bargain, so much the better. Or maybe throttle his neck with her bare hands…or kick his stupid face into oblivion. Each idea seemed to have its own merit, and Sia felt some satisfaction as she pictured these scenes in her mind.

She stomped out of her dorm, her face thunderous, and ran into Ginny and Hermione at the portrait hole. This displeased her entirely, as she was in no mood for gossip or anything even remotely frivolous. All she wanted to do was remove Malfoy from the face of the planet.

Ginny, entirely oblivious to Sia's mood, said a bright and cheerful "Hi". Sia ignored her completely. Hermione, however, seemed to sense that something was drastically wrong with Sia. She cast a furtive glance at the common room and finding it rather full, dragged Sia outside, Ginny bringing up the rear.

"Whats wrong?" Hermione asked almost immediately.

Sia looked at her, and found her face full of genuine concern. She couldn't tell her everything…she wanted to keep her humiliation private, or as private as Malfoy allowed it to be. How she hated the thought!

"Malfoy!" she managed to spit out.

"What! What happened?" Ginny seemed to perk up at the sound of his name.

"He…" Sia seemed to be having problems speaking normally as she swallowed a few times. She tried again. "He…well, he found out something about me that he wasn't supposed to know, the sneaky bastard."

Hermione seemed distinctly puzzled, while Ginny seemed to be trying not to look too eager or too happy, or maybe both.

"What exactly…" Hermione began, but Sia cut her off.

"No, HG, I'm not really ready to share right now. I just want to know where he is."

"Why, what are you going to do?" Ginny was now unable to hide her excitement.

"I'm going to teach him the lesson of his goddam, miserable life." Sia ground out.

Hermione was alarmed at the violence in Sia's eyes and voice. Ginny, however, seemed to get even more excited. She wanted to see Malfoy's face in the mud, having hated him for as long as she had been at Hogwarts. And with Sia involved, there were bound to be fireworks. She decided a prod in the right direction was the least she could do.

Even as Hermione glared at her, Ginny piped up, "We just saw him outside, practicing quidditch with his team. And they were all awfully bad." The last bit seemed to cheer her even more.

Sia didn't wait to see or hear anything more, but headed towards the quidditch pitch. Hermione and Ginny ran after her, trying desperately to match her long strides which were now even longer. Hermione tried to think of something to say to avoid an unpleasant situation, while Ginny didn't want to miss out on any part of what promised to be an interesting tête-à-tête.

While Hermione was crooning soothing words to Sia, Ginny decided to stop her in case she really managed to douse her anger. If she stayed angry enough, there was a distinct possibility she might find out what exactly had triggered Sia's anger.

"Oh shush, Hermione, Malfoy must have done something really bad. Why would Sia get so angry otherwise? And what else can you expect of him, honestly, a deatheater's son and a budding deatheater to boot…." Ginny suddenly stopped speaking as she walked right into Sia, who had halted in her tracks without any warning.

Sia turned slowly on the spot to look at Ginny, her face carved in stone. Ginny's eyes widened as she felt a shiver of apprehension slide down her spine. Hermione looked even more troubled now.

"Sia, what happened?" Hermione tried to catch Sia's attention, who was staring intently at Ginny.

"What did you just say? About deatheaters?" Sia's voice was so quiet Hermione thought it was a miracle they managed to hear her.

"What! Well, its common knowledge…more than half of his family are deatheaters; his father Lucius Malfoy, his aunt and uncle…Bellatrix and whatsis name! Everybody thinks its only a matter of time before he formally joins Voldemort. Why Dumbledore made him the head boy is a mystery to everyone…"

Sia didn't hear the rest of Ginny's speculations about Malfoy; she just whacked herself hard on the head, and then scrunched her eyes tightly shut as though in pain.

This was wonderful…just wonderful. She had just blabbed her plans to a potential deatheater, of all people. It wouldn't even matter now if she shelved her idea altogether, even if it was her dream; the deatheaters might hijack it and use it to further their own ends.

Sia opened her eyes and looked around bemusedly. Wasn't that strange now! Lavender and Parvati had told her everything about Malfoy…from his height to the width of his shoulders to the six-pack he was rumored to carry under his clothes to the number of girls he had had to date…everything. They had just forgotten to tell her that he was a fucking budding deatheater and had a family full of people whose favorite pastime was muggle hunting and running around in masks shouting Avada Kedavra. _And she was actually disappointed he_ _hadn't kissed her_! The nerve of him, Sia suddenly thought viciously as anger coursed though her veins, making her head throb.

She turned on her heels smartly and stomped towards the grounds fuming at herself. Hermione and Ginny were startled at first, and then they ran after her. It was a bit like running after a speeding train…for not only was Sia now doing double time, she was also muttering under her breath and refusing to stop.

They got outside the castle, and Sia made straight towards the quidditch pitch. Soon, they were there, and looking up, saw seven green figures on broomsticks high above them. Hermione wondered what was going to happen, and saw that Ginny seemed a bit apprehensive too.

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, but I had gone to Disneyworld. Yay me! Anyways, heres the chapter, now wheres the review?**


	9. Evil No, Wicked Yes

Draco was flying on his broomstick, his newly acquired Firebolt _Beta_, the latest version of the state-of-the-art Firebolt series. He was quite proud of it, seeing that he was again one up on Potter. He turned and swerved with great agility and speed, almost a blur to everyone else. He whizzed past the goal hoops, and then turned straight up, then leveled out, flying dizzyingly high above everyone else.

As the cold October wind whipped his face and played havoc with his hair, he looked down, observing what everyone else was doing. His team mates looked like toys, he was so high up, and the people on the ground mere pinpricks. This was where he had always been the happiest, in the air. But today was different; he was not happy. For one thing, their new captain, Peter Vaisey, kept halting the play every 5 minutes to remind everyone that he was the captain. This meant that none of the players were in any sort of rhythm, and Draco had had to stop chasing the snitch after spotting it six times already. Vaisey was a good chaser, but today he seemed wound up, and Draco rather thought that he was suffering some sort of complex because he knew that Draco wielded more influence on the team inspite of Vaisey being the captain. The idea amused him and he grinned to himself, silently mocking Vaisey's ill luck in being a mere pawn, but then sobered up as he realized that this situation spelled disaster for their team's prospects this year. Already they were having the worst practice session he had ever been a part of in Hogwarts. And he sorely wanted to win the quidditch cup this year…it was his last chance.

He saw the play being halted yet again but decided not to join his teammates. They would again be hearing the same thing anyway; that was the reason he had given up on trying to spot the snitch altogether, and was simply enjoying flying. Or was trying to, anyway. But every time he thought he was enjoying himself, a pair of hazel eyes popped inside his head. He had never realized her eyes were so huge…or maybe they looked so big because he had been looking at them from a distance of three inches. He still couldn't believe what had happened. Sia _Brush-off_ Raisingh had lost her head, and all because he had whispered in her ears. And not even technically in her ears. She had been totally, absolutely, under his spell at that time…he could've had her then and there, and ended his misery of suffering _n_ number of sleepless nights, wanting her beside him.

And yet, Draco thought furiously as he swerved sharply again, he hadn't even touched her. Why? He wasn't sure why he had done it, why he had backed off from her when he could hear very clearly each and every cell of her body screaming for him. Maybe because it hadn't felt right…he had felt devious, seducing her into revealing something she hadn't wanted to. But even that was odd; he had always been devious and it had never bothered him. Then why? Maybe because he wanted to soothe his ego that had been bruised that night in the pub. He wanted her, but he wanted her to come to him when she was fully in her senses, knowing full well what she was doing. He wanted to hear her scream out his name, but he wanted it when she wouldn't be able to accuse him of seducing her. In short, he wanted Sia Raisingh to fall for him, and come to him because of herself, not because of him. Then he would take her, and then walk all over her stupid infatuation and infuriating pride, crushing her. _Then_ it would feel right.

Satisfied with his reasoning at last, Draco turned towards his teammates, his mood greatly improved. He laughed aloud when he thought about Raisingh's reaction when she would come to her senses and realize what she had blurted out. He had been so surprised when she had actually told him the truth that he had just stared at her for sometime, unable to do anything else. He didn't know what to do with that information yet, so had decided to keep it to himself. But he looked forward to seeing Raisingh again, and the look of horror and anger on her face. He laughed again as he reached the mid air conference of his team.

"Took you long enough to join us, Draco. May I remind you that I am the captain of this team, and you are just another player, not the head boy here! So in future, keep your attitude for the mudblood." Vaisey ticked him off the moment he braked beside him.

Draco's laughter died suddenly, and his eyes went glacial. The rest of the team shifted uncomfortably on their brooms, sure that nothing good was going to come out of Draco's anger. Everyone was pissed off with Vaisey anyway, he was being such a pathetic captain. Crabbe and Goyle bared their teeth threateningly at Vaisey for daring to tell Malfoy off. Vaisey, however, stood his ground.

Draco looked coldly at Vaisey, and addressed him in tones cold enough to freeze the Sahara may times over. "I know that you are the captain, Vaisey, and so does the rest of the team, having been reminded of this for what should be the twentieth time now. If anyone needs to remember it, its you. So stop being an idiot, and start being the captain."

The words seemed to hit Vaisey physically, as he reeled in shock, and was about to fly away when Draco caught his broom handle with one hand. "We need to talk, you and I. Now." He motioned to the rest of the team with his eyes, and they all flew back to their respective positions. What Draco wanted, Draco got…that was one of the Slytherin mottos.

"Look Vaisey," Draco began, trying to infuse some warmth into his words, but failed. "I know its hard on you, but you have to understand one thing. We might be as different as night and day, and differ in our views diametrically, but at the end of the day, we, as in our whole team, want just one thing- the quidditch cup. And I personally want it so much that it actually hurts when I see a fairly good team make a mockery of practice, as we have done today. We can be unbeatable, I know its in us, we just need to focus on our team and our flying. And I am looking forward to see you do just that."

Vaisey remained quiet for so long Draco thought he wasn't going to say anything at all. He was thinking of flying away when Vaisey broke the silence. "This is what the problem is, Draco. You just put things across so well; I should've been able to do that, but I can't. I don't even know _why_ I got the badge; it should've gone to you. The whole team looks up to you, not me. And you're also the head boy…its just very difficult to get past all this." His voice was small and bitter.

Draco looked at him intently, knowing his team's chances this year depended on the mental fitness of this boy, even if all that he was saying was essentially correct. He himself didn't know why Snape had chosen Vaisey over him. Not that it mattered now. And he knew he had to reciproacate this rare Slytherin candour in some way.

"Peter," Draco began again, and this time his voice had shed some of its coldness. Vaisey, who had been staring disconsolately at the goal hoops in the distance, looked at him in surprise. Draco had never addressed him using his first name before…that was a privilege reserved for a select few like Crabbe, Goyle, Greengrass, Zabini, Nott and Parkinson, people he considered as his lesser equals. Nobody, of course, was considered his equal. "Don't suppose for even a single moment that I will ever mock your authority over the team, or do something that is not in the interest of the team. But at the same time, I want to see you trying your hardest to win that cup; if Potter gets his hands on it this year too, I personally will crucio you into oblivion, believe me. As for why the badge went to you, you are the best chaser on our team, and obviously you would've made a pathetic head boy. So…" Draco trailed off, smirking slightly at the boy. Vaisey grinned back, his confidence somewhat restored.

"Alright team, lets get going…we are going to slaughter the Gryffindors." Vaisey shouted, waving his one arm above him rather comically. Draco refrained from rolling his eyes with some difficulty; their first match was against Hufflepuff, they were going to have to do some hard work to slaughter Gryffindors, and Vaisey needed to work on his war cry.

The team started looking a bit better after that, but by then they had run out of time. Cursing under his breath at Vaisey for ruining perfect conditions with his ravings, Draco landed beside his team. His mood improved slightly on seeing Blaise waiting for him. As he made his way over to him, however, he found his way blocked by three Gryffindors, one of whom looked like she had swallowed a bottle of pepper-up potion, and was waiting to spit it out. Draco grinned inwardly…here it comes.

* * *

Sia stood glaring at Draco, so angry she didn't know where to begin. One thought kept fighting with another in her mind, wanting to be addressed first. And as she looked at him, the image of his face mere inches away from hers burst in front of her eyes, making her blush. Draco noticed her high color, and folded his arms over his chest, cocking his head to one side, waiting for her to begin.

Hermione looked from Sia to Draco, wondering what was up. Something had happened, big enough to rattle Sia, and she was convinced it was nearly entirely Draco's fault. He could be a real devil when he chose to be, eventhough he had been nothing short of nice to her. He hadn't even called her a mudblood since that oblique reference on the train. But he lost no opportunity to make fun of her; from her love for books to her passion for SPEW, everything was made fun of in great detail. But she instinctively knew that whatever had happened between Sia and him was certainly no laughing matter.

Before anyone could say anything however, Zabini had ambled over to stand beside Draco, looking at the three girls curiously from under his heavy-lidded eyes. He was a stark contrast to Draco…dark to Draco's pale skin, raven hair to his platinum blond locks, dark eyes to his gray ones, but just as tall, and just as popular, at least among one half of Hogwarts population.

"Well well, what do we have here? Looks like Potter has sent his blood traitor girlfriend to spy on the Slytherin team. And she has brought the henchwoman for protection, and the mudblood for…er,…what exactly have you brought the mudblood for?" Zabini drawled out.

Hermione colored slightly…it had been quite sometime since she had heard the term for herself.

"Eat dung, Zabini!" Ginny snarled at him.

"After you." He bowed low insultingly.

Sia's attention was diverted towards this new pestilence; how she hated the term. Her father was a muggle, and she couldn't stand hearing anyone insulting muggles or muggleborns. She hated her father too, but that was beside the point.

Sia sent a searing look at Zabini, her eyes narrowing to mere slits. "Watch it, sexy eyes; I don't really like doing bad things to good looking boys, so don't force me to."

Zabini laughed derisively. "Oh yeah, bad things! What bad things do you do, Raisingh? After seeing you display your…er…talents at Potions, I just cant wait to find out how bad you can get!" He leered at her.

Sia raised her eyebrows at him in cruel amusement. "You have no idea how bad I can get, pretty boy, so stay away."

Draco, who had been watching this exchange patiently till now, decided it was time to step in. Blaise really had no idea what Sia could do to him, and he didn't want to see him next packed inside a small box. He laid a restraining hand on the other boy's arm, his touch gentle but meaning firm. It was time to get down to business.

"What do you want Raisingh?" he asked quietly.

Sia looked at him with a steely glint in her eyes, all traces of amusement gone. "I want you to go around the school wearing a plaque saying that you belong to a family of deatheaters, so that innocent people do not accidentally contaminate themselves by your nearness. Can you do that?"

Draco had been expecting anything but that. All color drained from his face, and his countenance hardened visibly. Even Hermione was taken aback at what she considered to be a blow below the belt. Lucius Malfoy was hardly Draco's fault; you cant choose your father. Ginny, on the other hand, was delighted. She still remembered how the senior Malfoy had spoken to her father in Flourish and Blotts five years ago.

"Say whatever you want to me, Raisingh, but don't you dare have a go at my family." He spoke through clenched teeth.

"Its all about loving your family, is it! Then how about a plaque that reads 'I want to be a deatheater'?"

"You know nothing about my wants and wishes, Raisingh, so stop speculating. Why don't you stop beating around the bush and get to the point? Or are you afraid that the whole point will be lost if you do get to the point?" Draco mocked her.

"You are the most devious, evil, twisted, wicked…"

"Thank you for the compliments. But frankly Raisingh, I don't think I am evil, at least not yet; but wicked, oh yes." Draco took a deep bow, his eyes full of merriment.

Sia seethed inwardly. He knew she couldn't speak openly, the bastard. What was the point in coming here, confronting him, and ending up looking even more of a fool! And that too in front of several Slytherins. But then, she had been so angry she hadn't been thinking straight. So what to do now….yes, Obliviate his memory.

Sia shot him a look of triumphant hatred, and plunged her hand in the waistband of her jeans to pull out her wand. The only thing was, it wasn't there. Sia froze with shock. Where was her wand?

Draco looked at her suddenly still form, his eyes traveling to where her hand was frozen and realized what was wrong. He raised his eyebrows at her derisively, a devilish smile spreading across his face. It was when Sia saw his smile that she realized…she had left her wand in the Room of Requirement!

She refrained from hitting herself over the head with great difficulty. She was embarrassed when she remembered just why she had forgotten her wand in the first place, and angry with herself for landing herself in this soup. Now how in the name of Wendelin the Weird was she going to get herself out of this with dignity intact? She couldn't fight verbally, she couldn't break his bones, and she couldn't do magic! She wanted to bawl at the top of her lungs suddenly, and pretend madness.

Draco was enjoying seeing Sia squirm uncomfortably, knowing exactly what was going through her mind, drinking in her helplessness. Lets see you get out of this, Raisingh, his eyes twinkled at her. This is really not her day, poor girl!

"Cat got your tongue, Raisingh? Run out of compliments for me already? You can add clever, cunning, ingenious, resourceful, popular, handsome, gorgeous, and …sinfully attractive to the list. I will accept them all, with pleasure." Draco smiled impishly at her, stressing the last adjective to himself in devilish amusement.

Sia swallowed the gibe about his being sinfully attractive with poor grace. "You are a bastard…" she started grounding out, but was cut off by him again.

"Actually, no. I was born three years after my parents got married. So this one is way off the mark. But full points for trying." Draco told her blithely.

Sia wanted to slap that annoying smirk off his face, and claw at him till all traces of good looks disappeared. She knew she had lost control of the situation a long time back…probably as soon as she had stepped in front of him. But she couldn't back out now…she could stand to lose everything, but not her face. And certainly not in front of this boy to whom she had already shown one weakness. One too many.

"Oh, and you can also add my being a good listener to the list of compliments. If you have a secret to share, Raisingh, I am your man." He smiled at her, showing nearly all of his dazzling teeth.

Sia wanted to pull her hair out of her head in frustrated anger that was not getting an outlet. How could she have allowed things to come to such a pass, she had no idea. Suddenly, out of the blue, her mother's disapproving voice rang in her ears, " You are very impulsif, mon cheri…too impulsif for you own good. Vous devez penser d'abord, et agissez après. Good girls…" But at that, Sia shut her eyes tightly to block out the vivid image of her mother sitting straight in her favorite chair, folding clothes meant for some orphanage, while lecturing Sia on good manners in her slightly accented English peppered with her native French. But the memory left a bitter taste in her mouth, particularly since she now realized that listening to her mother once in a while might not have been such a bad idea. It would certainly have saved her arse from being fried, as of now.

Ginny was watching the exchange a bit puzzled at Sia's restraint and Draco's growing amusement. She had no idea what had happened, but whatever it was, Malfoy had Sia in a corner. She wasn't particularly fond of Sia, but she didn't dislike her either; at least, she had no desire to see her humiliated at Malfoy's hands. Sia was nice in her own way…even if that way was a bit strange. She had certainly helped Hermione out in a sticky situation, and was trying her best to help her in what they now referred to as the "Ron-Won Project". And she could be very funny when she chose to be. And, of course, she had been giving hell to all Slytherins, including Snape, for quite sometime now. All in all, a lot of points were stacked in her favor. Then why wasn't she so fond of Sia so as to jinx Malfoy with her Bat-Bogey Hex there and then? Why? Was it just because she was relatively new, or was it because Harry seemed to like her so much?

Yes…it was definitely that. Harry seemed to like bizarre things about Sia, things he wouldn't have liked in any other girl, herself included. If she some day decided to run around in skirts even twice the length of Sia's, Harry would throw his robes over her, and then bite her head off. If news got to him that she had been flirting with a teacher, even if it was Snape, and even if the flirting was a way to rile him, he would probably show her the shortest and fastest way down from the Astronomy tower. If she ever even winked at Malfoy, let alone blow a kiss, even if it was to mock him, he would probably make her hex herself as atonement for her sins. If she started dueling verbally with Slytherins every chance she got, he would probably pack her off to Madam Pomfrey to get her head examined. He wouldn't even tolerate all this from Hermione; he would rather feed her to a blast-ended skrewt. And last year, before they had got together, Harry had refused Romilda Vane because, among other things, he had found her too forward to his liking. But in Sia, all this was not only perfectly tolerable, but infinitely funny! He had warmed up to Sia so rapidly Ginny was now finding it positively alarming, never mind Sia's protestations that she wasn't interested in Harry. If Harry found her interesting, would she refuse the Chosen One? Ginny thought not. She had found Harry after pining for him for more than five years…she wasn't about to let this girl, or any other girl for that matter, steal him from her. And this girl definitely looked like a threat. She wasn't strictly good looking, but she was…eye catching. And she was attractive and smart enough to keep the male eyes glued to her once she had caught them. And she had the attitude that boys seem to like very much. Already she had displaced Miranda Goldberg of Hufflepuff as the most popular girl in Hogwarts, and Miranda was really good looking, with golden hair and blue eyes and skin that was rose and silk. Okay, so she wasn't too bright, but boys had salivated after her before Sia had come along. Even Malfoy had hooked up with her thrice before turning his back on her finally. All in all, Ginny summed up, while she didn't dislike Sia, she didn't like her too much either. So for the time being, she decided to let her squirm.

Hermione was liking the situation less every second. Clearly it was Sia's day off, and Malfoy seemed to be making the most of it. This was more like the Malfoy she had known for the past six years…his almost gentlemanly behavior in the Head's dorm was starting to scare her a bit. But whatever it was, she wanted Sia to know that she was with her friends. Gryffindors stood together, and she decided the time had come for her to make her presence known, as Sia seemed to have forgotten them. If Malfoy was going to laugh, he would have to contend with three Gryffindors, not one. And anyway, she was frustrated with him herself for refusing to acknowledge her efforts that, unknown to him, were directed at him. With that in mind, she stepped forward, and laid a hand on Sia's arm.

Sia was jolted by the touch, so intent was she on her impending doom and lack of any noticeable means to avoid it. She looked at Hermione in shock, and then amazement, as though wondering what she was doing there.

"HG…what are you doing here?" she blurted out, and then could've bitten her tongue.

Hermione raised her eyebrows slightly at that, but turned to face the Slytherin instead. Malfoy looked from one to the other, enjoying himself thoroughly. He was confident that given the recent display of his virtuous side to Granger, she wouldn't say anything against him. So her next sentence came as something of a shock to him.

"You don't need to enumerate your multiple talents, Malfoy. Having known you for the last six years, we know what a perfect ferret you can be. Your real colours must have come as a shock to Sia, I imagine, because she is new. But I am glad that now she is able to see you in proper light." Her voice was dismissive and cold as she addressed Malfoy, and then she turned to Sia and said warmly, "Lets go, Sia. Calling him names won't help, because theres no name bad enough to describe him."

To say that Malfoy was angry would have been an understatement. More than anything that Sia had said, Hermione's curt dismissal got to him. Raisingh had a reason to be pissed off, but what was Granger's excuse? Stupid Gryffindor, his gentlemanly ways were wasted on her. It would've served her right had he taken that skirt off her the day it was shortened. Now she would be dealing with a broken heart and a lost virginity, among other things, rather than talking him down. And that thing about ferret still hurt.

"Well well, Raisingh," he addressed Sia in tones that seemed to carry on the polar winds, but his cold gaze was fixed on Hermione. "I never thought you would need the services of a mudblood to fight your battles. But seems I was wrong." He sneered at Hermione.

Hermione was taken aback. After all the civility he had shown her in the Head's dorm, she had thought he had gotten over his blood fixation. Evidently she was wrong…he was still the same Malfoy, who was just acting differently because of some twisted reasoning of his. Maybe he was up to something. She should've felt relieved at finding her enemy on familiar grounds once again, but it hurt. She drew in a sharp breath involuntarily.

Malfoy heard it, and saw her hurt expression. For a moment something close to guilt stirred within him, but cruel satisfaction took its place almost instantly.

Sia heard it, and immediately saw red. Subconsciously, she also saw an excuse to nail the sly snake with. She stepped up to Malfoy and spoke in menacing tones, staring him down with eyes that radiated the heat of sun. "Bite your tongue, Malfoy, for using that term. And if I ever hear you using it again, I will do it for you."

Malfoy was intimidated by her anger for a second, but he couldn't back out…his entire team, not to mention Blaise, was watching. He lowered his face so that it was level with hers, feeling the heat of her scorching gaze on his skin, or was it his own blood pumping in his face at the realization that he was walking in a mine field. Their faces mere inches apart, he blew air softly, with his lips only slightly apart, so that only Sia could know what he was doing. She felt the breeze, and realized what he was doing…he was playing with her senses again, trying to wrong-foot her once again. She felt anger pounding in her temples at his nerve, determined not to be made a fool of this time. It was tough, for his proximity had started doing funny things to her.

Malfoy saw her anger at its flashing point, and decided to push her over the edge recklessly, just to satisfy his curiosity. Staring into her eyes directly, he spoke quite clearly, "Mudblood!" And then smiled triumphantly. He saw Sia's eyes widen in shock, and then narrow in anger, and that was the last he saw.

Sia was shocked at his nerve, and as she heard him, anger coursed through her brain so fast she could no longer think. Hurt pride, bruised ego, impossible situation, helplessness, and the possibility of further humiliation flooded into her brain with her anger, virtually jamming all reason and coherence. That, and his heady proximity, and her involuntary attraction to him. Without realizing what she was doing, Sia brought up her one hand catching hold of the front of his quidditch robes and pulled him towards her, the other curling behind his nape almost of its own volition. Before he realized what was happening, her mouth was on his.

It seemed to Sia as though time stood still, as though the world as she knew it had ceased to exist. All that was there was him, and her. His mouth was open because of the shock at her actions, and her tongue slid inside his mouth easily, discovering what she had longed to discover ever since she had laid her eyes on him. She sucked on his lower lip greedily, nibbling on it softly and fondled his teeth with her tongue. She couldnt seem to get enough of him and her hand at the back of his neck pulled him in to her further. He smelled irresistibly nice, his cologne woody this time, mingled with his own scent to make a heady combination. And he was a damn good kisser, once he was able to get over the initial shock. His tongue danced with hers, touching in ways that sent a rush of heat down her legs. There was a roaring sound in her ears, as though she was standing near a wild surf, or maybe she was in the surf, being tossed around by huge waves of passion and pleasure that this mouth was stirring. This mouth. Malfoy's mouth. _Shit_.

It was as though a switch had suddenly been turned on inside her head, and she saw herself clearly, standing very close to Malfoy, her one hand holding his head prisoner, the other holding on to his robes for dear life. What the heck was she doing, she asked herself dumbly, and the answer came back to her in the nauseating singsong voice that she reserved for Snape: _you are kissing Draco Malfoy, and in front of an audience_. Of all the ways she could have chosen to make a fool of herself, this had to take the cake as being the most embarrassing one. Her tongue was still inside his mouth, she realized with rising panic, and withdrew it. But by then Malfoy had moved into the spirit of things, and his tongue followed hers into her mouth, sending shivers down her spine. His hands, which were holding her upper arms loosely, moved up to her shoulders, his fingers curving over them, reaching out to her nape. Sia felt another wave of heat wash over her, and realized dully that if she didn't stop this now, her legs would give way completely. She could almost feel her flesh melting under the firm grasp of his hands. Even as she kissed him back, a part of her brain seemed to be kicking back into gear. And that part told her that her image, in all its ruined glory, was waiting for her just after this kiss. I have to do something, she thought dazedly, or I will never be able to show my face in this school again.

Draco was shocked. He had been expecting a slap, perhaps, but not this. He had a vague plan about leaving her stuttering like an idiot while he played havoc with her senses once again, but she had stymied him completely. He hadn't seen this kiss coming, but now that it was happening, he didn't mind it one bit. A part of him was smirking somewhere that it was Raisingh who had made the first move…he was just returning the favor, so to speak. But as the kiss deepened, his thoughts melted into passion that had been quietly smoldering within him ever since he had seen her that night in the pub. Now he was sorry he had let that wonderful opportunity pass in the Room of Requirement earlier…he could have satisfied every fantasy of his, and the hell with quidditch and everything else. Wait a minute, _quidditch_? What the hell was he doing, losing his head kissing a Gryffindor, in front of his whole damn team! And Blaise too. But then, it was she who was kissing him, not him. No, she had initiated the kiss, but now it was him kissing her almost as if his life depended on it, and she was kissing him back so very sweetly. Seductress, that's what she was. But did it matter, so long as he didn't appear too shaken in front of his house mates! He could play it all cool and cocky and get away with it, leaving her to take the consequences. After all, it was she who had started it.

But just as the thought occurred to him, he felt a sharp pain pierce his tongue, and he cried out unable to help himself. He let go of her immediately, clapping his hands to his mouth where his tongue continued to throb. As he felt something wet on his hands, he looked at them to find blood, his own red, shining blood, on them. Horrified, he looked up at Sia who was looking at him with an enigmatic expression on her face. As his teammates hurried forward to him, he shrugged them off and faced Sia, his heart pumping anger throughout his body. The bloody bitch had bitten his tongue, for Merlin's sake!

Sia stood looking at him, still unable to think what she had done. But it was the only thing she could have done to save face, and it looked good. Now for the rest of the face-saving ceremony. She stepped up to Malfoy once again, who almost automatically stepped back. She smirked slightly, and extended her right hand to pry away his hand from his mouth, and flicked the index finger of her left against his lips, drawing it away to show him she had a drop of his blood on it. As everyone around her stared at her in bafflement, she licked his blood with slow deliberation, never breaking eye contact with him. Draco's eyes narrowed to mere slits. Then she stepped back to her friends, and caught hold of Hermione's hand. Hermione got an inkling of her course of action a split second before Sia actually did it, but she was able to bite back her cry of pain as Sia bit into her finger, drawing blood. Sia licked it thoughtfully, and then looked straight back at Malfoy.

"Amazing!" Sia drawled out at Malfoy, who now looked as though he had just been force-fed a very bitter lemon. "With all this talk of pure bloods and mudbloods, I decided to find out just how different your blood was from hers. And wonder of wonders, it tastes just the same. And it even looks the same. Now what could be the reason behind it, o great Pureblood? Maybe its just that HG's blood isn't that muddy, or your blood isn't that pure. Are you quite sure none of your great ancestors had a brief fling with a muggle, and decided to cover up his or her moment of shame with a big fat lie? Or maybe, blood isn't that big a deal as its made out to be. Take your pick…. loser." And with that, Sia turned smartly on her heels and left with a delighted Ginny and a shocked but smiling Hermione.

* * *

Draco remained standing there, still as a statue. For a long time, the blood dripping from his mouth and his hair and robes being whipped about by wind were the only signs of movement from him. Blaise actually got worried, thinking that maybe Draco was under some kind of shock. The Slytherin team shuffled their feet behind him restlessly, unsure of what to do or say. Some of them were actually inclined to laugh, but were smart enough not to. After a while, Blaise shooed them away towards the dressing rooms, leaving Draco and him alone.

"Er…shall I fix your…er…bleeding organ?" Zabini asked a bit hesitantly, trying to swallow his laughter. The cold look Draco gave him assured him he had failed miserably, just as he had meant to.

"C'mon, Draco, stop sulking. Be a good boy and let me help you. Here," he took out his wand and pointed it at Draco, who shrugged him off and took out his own wand instead. Draco conjured a mirror, and using it mopped himself up carefully, and then pointed his wand at his tongue which instantly healed. He threw the mirror at Zabini and started stomping off the pitch, his broomstick on his shoulder.

Blaise fell into step beside him. "All things considered, that could have gone better." Riling Draco was his favorite sport, and he had been at it ever since he had known him. "Raisingh's quite a character. I never saw that one coming." Draco ignored him and continued to walk without looking at him. "And neither did you," he added slyly. Draco frowned. "So, how was it? The kiss, I mean. Er, before it got a bit sadistic." Blaise was going to extract as much enjoyment as he could from this episode.

Draco stopped walking, and turned around to look at his amused friend. "If you want to find out, why don't you ask her to kiss you? I'm sure she'll oblige you…_sexy eyes_." He couldn't stop himself, and then could've kicked himself for the way it sounded. Sure enough, Blaise picked it up instantly.

"My, my…prickly, aren't we? And a bit jealous too. But Draco baby, it was _you_ she kissed, not me, inspite of my sexy eyes. But boy, do I wish she had! When she bit you, it looked so infinitely sensual…just blew me away. Imagine if she had really done that to me!" Blaise actually sounded wistful and Draco peered at him thoughtfully.

"You seem to have picked up some unusual tastes over summer. Or you may have gone mad, finally. However, neither of the possibilities surprises me." Draco spoke disdainfully.

"Yeah…its Raisingh who surprised you, right?" Blaise smirked at him, drawing his scowl. "She is something else, alright. I mean, she managed to stump you at your own game. Bet you anything you wouldn't be able to shag her before, say, your birthday. What do you say?" He shot Draco a challenging look. Draco merely raised his eyebrows.

"That's decided then, you have gone mad." Draco told him, and turned away.

"Scared, head boy?" Blaise taunted him. Draco faced him again, his look scornful.

"Not scared, just slightly surprised at your colossal stupidity. Do you really think I am going to risk my personal well being for a mere wager? You saw that girl; she behaves like she's related to the vampires. Maybe she really is. But I am not interested in finding out. You've got unusual tastes, you are welcome to her. My tastes are perfectly normal, thank you very much." Draco told him loftily and turned away again.

"Normal tastes, eh?" Blaise snickered at him. "Don't get me started on that, _Drakie_ _darling_. I happen to know a few things about your _tastes_ that would surprise, not to mention embarrass, you."

Draco merely smiled. "Been having a lot of discussions with Pansy, I see. You forget that I have talked with her a lot as well, and she knows a lot about...stuff. And sometimes you came up in our conversations. Now that I think about it, you have a lot more to be embarrassed about. Shall we have a bet on that, what say?" Draco smiled slyly at his childhood friend, who flushed.

"I didn't mean it that way, you know…" Blaise began, trailing away sheepishly. Draco smirked at him, and started walking again, the other boy matching his stride.

"You should have learnt by now not to challenge me to anything, Blaise. I have always won, and always will."

"We'll have to see about that. Maybe I just haven't thought of a challenge yet that you are bound to lose! What about shagging the mudblood? She's turning out to be quite a looker now."

Draco made a disgusted face. "Please, Blaise…me and Granger? I can never stoop so low, and you know it."

"Oh, I don't know. I had never thought she could look anything except loathsome, but she has started to look quite fetching now…I had thought you had something to do with it." Zabini shot him a quizzical look.

Draco laughed. "She is doing all that just to catch Weasley's eye, although why she is making so much of an effort for that oaf I don't know. Neither is he worth it, nor is he able to notice it." Draco finished disdainfully.

"Hmmm…you are right about that. Weasley's all wrong for her, and its wrong on her part to go for Weasley when studs like us are around, what say?" Zabini smirked at Draco.

"Like you, not like me. I'm not interested in her, thank you very much." Draco corrected him. He had other plans regarding her, after all, but he was not about to let Blaise know that.

"Not interested in Raisingh, not interested in Granger….what's wrong with you Draco? Either you're turning into a ponce or are losing your touch. By the way, whats the score for this year?" Zabini shook his head and eyed Draco questioningly.

"I've decided to go for quality rather than quantity this year." Draco replied condescendingly.

"Which means, zero, zilch, naught! Doesn't it, mate?" Zabini asked maliciously.

"Actually, no, it does not." Draco replied, and was glad it was the truth, even if it was only Pansy.

"If you are counting Pansy, then forget it. And anyway, she doesn't come under the heading of 'quality', does she?" Zabini was smart, Draco had to hand it to him.

"She does, actually. She's quite good, as a matter of fact."

"Hmm…it can only be lots of practice. Are you going to get serious about her?" Zabini asked a bit cautiously.

"I don't think so." Draco sighed.

"Thank Merlin. I was beginning to think you had totally lost it. But are you quite sure you are not going to accept the Raisingh challenge?"

Draco stopped and turned to face Zabini fully now. "No, Blaise, I am not going to accept the Raisingh challenge. Make what you will of it. That girl is crazy, totally unpredictable. Not to mention a Gryffindor. What if she bit my penis during a blowjob? I can't risk that." He would have walked away if Zabini hadn't collapsed in fits of laughter.

"Theres…that…I…suppose!" Zabini managed to gasp between his uncontrollable mirth. Then he managed to get a grip on himself and said a bit more composedly, "But if she does do that, Draco my boy, then she would be doing a favor to many girls in Hogwarts. You have broken quite a few hearts, mate."

"So have you, my friend, but I am not the one who's wishing Raisingh upon you. You really are a bad friend, Blaise." Draco admonished him playfully.

"Thank you, my friend. I always strive to do my best…to be the worst," Zabini grinned at Draco. Then he suddenly grew serious, and asked, "Are you quite sure you have no interest in Granger?"

"I am sure." Draco smiled inwardly at what he now felt sure was to come.

"Good. Then, I think I will make a move on her. I never knew she had great legs. Once I am done with her, Weasley can have the seconds, if she would want to have him after me, that is." Zabini smirked confidently.

"All the best, mate. And tell me how it was." Draco shook his hand rather solemnly, surprising him.

"Uh…I will. Thanks. See you later." And then he walked away towards the school.

Draco stood there watching him for some time, and then added to the air around him, "Watch out for her slap, mate. She hits really hard." And then he smiled maliciously to himself, adding, "Evil, no. But wicked, definitely...yes."

And then he laughed and headed towards the changing rooms, imagining a red faced Blaise with Hermione's hand imprinted on his cheek, momentarily forgetting his own humiliation.

**A/N: Yeah, wickedness ensues from now on, and anyone with a weak stomach can stop reading right now, lol. Please do leave a review and I'll try my best to gift wrap Draco as your Christmas gift...but maybe you'll want him unwrapped...? ;-) Ok, so wrapped or unwrapped Dracos for all reviewers (plz specify), Ho Ho Ho. Merry Christmas to all.**


	10. Shock Therapy

The weekend passed in a haze for Sia, who couldn't thank her lucky stars enough for getting out of the mess she had created for herself that day. Ginny had thought she was really cool, hurting Malfoy where he didn't expect it. Hermione was a bit horrified at Sia's actions, but wasn't being too harsh about it as in her eyes, Sia was defending her honour, with that entire 'mudblood' thing mixed up. Sia would have begged to differ if she hadn't wanted to hide the truth so much.

The truth was, it was her attraction to Malfoy plain and simple that had made her kiss him. It was triggered by a whole host of things-her anger and frustration and his being a prat, but the idea had insinuated itself into her mind just because of her physical pull towards him. But she knew she was going to take this particular secret with her to the grave.

As she relived those few moments in her mind, she realized how much she had been enjoying the kiss, and how much she wanted to do that again. Also, how much panicked she had become upon realizing her predicament, and how much important it had been to take some drastic action. And drastic it was, no doubt about it. But while she had made it this time through the skin of her teeth, she doubted she would get as lucky another time. The only thing to do was make sure there was no repeat performance. Involvement with Malfoy in any way was not feasible; there was just too much pride and antagonism mixed up. And then, he was a budding deatheater.

* * *

Monday would've passed uneventfully if it hadn't been for two people. One of them was Ron.

Hermione had straightened her hair today on Ginny's insistence. She looked striking, no doubt, but also very un-Hermionish. Just as she and Ginny started on their porridge under the disapproving glare of Sia who still thought hair straightening was a bad idea for Hermione, Ron and Harry came up behind them. Ron whacked Hermione hard on her back, and added brightly, " Budge up, Ginny, I am starving."

Hermione turned a beetroot red, as Ginny looked up from beside her and addressed her brother, absolutely livid. "Ron, you prat, cant you tell your sister and Hermione apart, considering that you have grown up with one, and spent nearly seven years with the other!" She said waspishly.

Now it was Ron's turn to resemble a beetroot. As Harry laughed and Sia sniggered into her porridge, Ron began sputtering and stammering to a steaming Hermione.

"I am so sorry…Its just…you know, Hermione…your hair…I mean, its different…I thought Ginny had colored her hair…she does silly things all the time, you know…I didn't mean no offence…I swear…"

Even as Ginny glared at him with a what-do-you-mean-Ginny-does-silly-things look, Hermione got up regally from her seat and spoke with a quiet restraint, "Its quite alright, Ronald. I don't blame you in the slightest. Anyone can make that mistake, I'm sure. It was just a silly idea of Ginny's." And at that, she sent Ginny a look cold enough to make Malfoy proud. Sia raised her eyebrows at Ginny, and she looked slightly abashed.

Hermione by now had started picking up her bag and seemed to have abandoned her barely touched breakfast. She flung her bag on her shoulder, sent a fake cheery, "See you later" at them, and departed with a dignity only she could've managed. Sia rather thought she saw the hint of a tear in her eyes as she had turned, and was reminded rather harshly of her own commitment to the 'Ron-Won Project', and how badly it seemed to be taking shape. And with her recent escapades, it had totally gone off the track, not to mention out of her mind. And there was only one person to blame for it-Malfoy.

As Sia sent a death glare at the Slytherin table towards the one person she thought most deserved it, she found him totally engrossed with something that Pansy was telling him. It only served to irk her more. What does he see in her, for Merlin's sake? She must be awesome at blowjobs, that has to be the only plausible reason, she thought, and smirked at the idea. Just then, Malfoy looked up and his gaze collided with hers. Sia's smirk widened and as she was reminded irresistibly of how he had stepped back like a scaredy-cat after getting his tongue bitten off, she actually smiled. She fully expected him to scowl or look away, and was taken aback when he smiled back. It was a naughty, knowing kind of smile, and it spread on his face slowly…enveloping her in its warmth. Sia tingled all over just looking at him smiling like that; it made him look very boyishly cute and irresistible. And then he winked at her, and became the second reason to make the day eventful.

* * *

As they worked at their respective tables in Potions, Sia pondered over what Malfoy's smile and wink could've meant. Technically, the last round had belonged to her, so he should be really pissed off. Which means, he shouldn't really be smiling at her, or if at all, it should've been a tight, ugly sort of smile. Or he could have come up with some truly ignoble plan in response, but then it should've been a smirk, or a sinister or twisted smile. But it wasn't any of those…it was a mischievous smile, as though he knew some secret about her, and that wink suggested they were co-conspirators in something. Of course he knew a secret about her…but he hadn't smiled like that at the quidditch pitch that day when the secret was fresh in his mind. And there was nothing under the sun that would get them together to be co-conspirators…except that kiss.

Sia's mind went cold as she came to realize what his smile and wink could've meant. He knew. He knew that all that had happened that day between them, including their war of words, was just a façade. He knew she had kissed him because she had wanted to. He knew she had bitten his tongue later just to save face. He knew it was all just a big sham to cover up her…alright, her lust for him. He would know, wouldn't he…she had been behaving like some star-struck teenybopper around him…melting at his smiles, going weak at his nearness. And there was that kiss. He would know how involved she was, how much she was enjoying herself. That was the reason…and she had thought he had looked cute! Oh, the horror of it! And she had thought it was a secret she could carry to her grave; well, the grave was here, and all she had to do was jump into it after having dug it up herself.

Sia closed her eyes tightly for a few seconds, and tried to steady her breathing. In, out. In, out. In, out, she repeated to herself like a mantra till her breathing eased up.

She had to do something to make it appear like she wasn't interested…she just had to. How could she face him otherwise! Now that she felt better, and certainly sharper than she normally did when faced with extreme emotions, she forced herself to think. As she looked around, her gaze settled on Hermione, who had tied her hair behind her to make it less conspicuous. She looked definitely downcast, and Sia guessed she might've been crying to herself. And directly opposite her, standing on Slytherin side, was Malfoy, as afflicted with the Can't-see-Granger disease as ever. Time to kill two birds with one stone, and prescribe Shock Therapy to her patient.

She looked around quickly to cause some distraction, and saw Snape bullying Neville who was today thankfully standing some way further from her. She looked at the potion bubbling in her cauldron thoughtfully…a pinch of dried powdered bat wings more should do the trick at this stage. She surreptitiously took out her wand, and carefully levitated some bat wing powder into Millicent Bulstrode's cauldron, who was busy batting her eyelashes at an uninterested and thoroughly irritated Zabini. Instantly, a lot of smoke started issuing from her cauldron that also caused everyone who inhaled it to sneeze. Sia held her breath, looking at Hermione with intense concentration for the right moment…she didn't want to sneeze just yet, and she didn't want to miss the moment when Hermione did.

At precisely the moment Hermione sneezed, Sia sent a spell at her causing her drab cloak to open from the front and for the top three buttons of her shirt to come undone. She also made the scarf tied to her hair to fly away. Right at that time, Snape was waving his own wand at Bulstrode's cauldron, clearing the air and causing all the sneezing to immediately stop. Sia saw one of the buttons from Hermione's shirt lying on the ground…she must have been a bit over-enthusiastic with her spell. She aimed a spell cautiously at it, causing it to fly straight at Malfoy and hit him squarely on his forehead as he bent down to peer into his cauldron.

Draco immediately looked up, raising his hand to rub his forehead where the button had hit him…but it never got there. Instead, it remained suspended rather comically in midair as he froze at the sight before him.

Granger was standing there, working at her potion with full concentration. But she looked so…hot. Her hair was different…but it wasn't that. It was her cleavage that had got his attention. He couldn't believe what she was doing. She was no Raisingh…but here she was, doing exactly that! And looking like a million galleons too! He could see her sensible bra shielding her assets from his eyes. He could never have imagined Granger to be carrying that under her uninspiring clothes. All he wanted to do right now was push her against a wall and tear off her shirt and that wisp of a cloth and make her moan in ecstasy.

Hermione felt the heat of Malfoy's gaze on her and looked up to find him staring at her, frozen in shock. Well, maybe Ginny's idea did have some merit to it, she thought. But then, as she saw his gaze fixed at her breasts and looked down, she nearly cried out with mortification. She immediately grabbed at her cloak and buttoned it up hurriedly, fumbling a little in embarrassment and turning a bright shade of magenta. She didn't know how it had happened…but she was surprised she hadn't already died of humiliation. And now she so wanted to die.

Meanwhile Pansy, who was standing right next to Draco, had stopped sneezing and had looked up at him ruefully, only to find him still as a statue with his hand frozen in midair. As her gaze followed his, she found Hermione showing a great deal of her assets, and then fumbling to cover herself up. Her mouth opened into an 'O' of amazement at what she saw. Before she could analyze what had happened, she saw Sia looking at Hermione and Draco almost adoringly, as though they were her favorite children. And then she saw Sia clasp her hands as though in a silent thanks to heavens for granting her most fervent wish. Then Sia suddenly looked at Pansy, and smiled dreamily, gesturing towards Draco and Hermione with her eyes, as though to ask; don't they make a cute couple?

Pansy was suddenly blinded with rage and jealousy; she forgot where they were, she forgot that Draco and Hermione had on principle loathed each other since forever. All that she saw was the mudblood trying to snare her Draco by displaying her charms so blatantly, and Draco falling for it. And by the looks of Sia, something had been going on between them for sometime…they shared a dormitory, after all. Who knows what they have been up to…!

Pansy could bear to think no more. She would show them who Draco belonged to! She would remind Draco why he had liked her so much! She knew a lot many girls had come and gone in Draco's life…but hadn't she remained a constant factor! But those girls had only been good for a few rolls in the hay, and Draco had always returned to her. But she instinctively knew that the Gryffindor was different…she was no roll-in-the-hay material. Either she was up to something, or she had really fallen for Draco. Her Draco. She would show them, she seethed with blazing anger.

Sia watched Pansy boiling with rage with growing amusement. She had noticed Pansy looking, and had attracted her attention with some rather melodramatic movements. Luckily, Pansy was so distracted that it had worked. She waited for the angry Slytherin to do something drastic, and was not disappointed.

Pansy suddenly launched herself at Draco, who had not yet managed to put his eyes back in completely, and was caught off-guard. As Pansy pulled his head to her, leaning into him, trying to kiss him belligerently, he lost his balance and fell back with an almighty crash, taking Pansy with him. The whole class, that had miraculously failed to notice the entire affair so far, looked around, as did Snape.

Snape turned at the sound to find his prodigy on the floor sprawled on his back, with his supposed girlfriend on top of him, glued to his lips. For a moment he couldn't believe it. Draco wouldn't do this…not here. He had an idea that Draco got up to a lot many things…but certainly not in a class…_his class_! As Snape's eyebrows disappeared in his greasy hair, the class erupted around him. Even the Slytherins were laughing; they were never really given a chance to laugh at Mr. High and Mighty Malfoy.

"Silence!" Snape's cold voice rang out in the dungeon, and immediately all noise of mirth ceased as though a switch had been turned off. He fixed the pair on the floor with his cold gaze, and remained silent as he saw Pansy struggling to get up, red faced and mortified. Once she had managed it, she quickly moved behind her desk, her eyes downcast on her flaming face.

Draco got up after her, still dazed and confused as to exactly what had happened. He met Snape's black orbs and felt heat and color steal up his cheeks. He had never been subjected to this look from Snape before, ever. It was full of disbelief, disappointment, and a cold anger.

He walked sedately back to his desk, his face impassive, none of the conflicting emotions going through within him showing on his face. He walked behind his desk and turned to look at Snape, eyes lowered to a point on his collar. Snape walked up to them, and spoke in clipped tones he had never used before with Draco, "Detention, both of you. For every night this week." Draco looked up and saw that Snape was addressing him, as though he held him solely responsible for the entire episode. It was so unfair that he wanted to protest, but took one look at Snape's expression and desisted.

After that, Draco could not look up from his cauldron the entire remaining period, but neither could he concentrate on his potion. He was burning inside with humiliation, seething with an anger that had started like a small flame and was now sneakily spreading throughout his body, rapidly building up into a conflagration. He could feel the amused and mocking eyes of his classmates on him, feel their ridicule, and it drove him mad. Nobody laughed at a Malfoy, and nobody ridiculed Draco Malfoy. And the worst part was it was not his fault in any way.

As the full realization of the last thought hit him, he stole a glance at Hermione, and saw her looking determinedly into her cauldron with a red face. The anger that was bubbling in him against her subsided a little to find her uneasy with the entire situation. Maybe she wasn't at fault…maybe it was an accident. It was then that he saw Sia.

Sia was standing behind her desk, her eyes streaming with tears that ran down her cheeks. Before Draco could delude himself into thinking she was sad at his plight, however, he saw her shaking with mirth at the same time. She was crying because she couldn't give vent to her overwhelming amusement. The bitch, Draco suddenly thought viciously. He was ready to bet she had something to do with it all, although exactly what he couldn't really imagine; after all, it had been Granger and Pansy who had done everything between them. _Damn them all_, he raged silently.

Thankfully, the bell rang just then, and under the malevolent eyes of Snape, everybody packed their bags and tried to depart quietly while trying to catch Draco's eyes at the same time. Draco, however, did not look up again, and tried to take as long a time as possible.

The class was nearly empty when a pair of footsteps stopped beside him, and he looked up, instantly regretting it. Sia bent down beside him, and came up with something in her hand. She opened her palm to show him what it was- a button- and walked away, smiling innocently. It was then that it occurred to Draco exactly what she might have done.

* * *

Draco hurried along the corridor, trying to find Zabini. Crabbe had told him this was where he had come. Then he saw him up ahead, charming a pretty Ravenclaw with curly hair. She had actually let him curl a strand of her hair around one index finger, while his other hand was sneaking towards her shoulders. For a moment, Draco wondered how he himself had failed to notice the girl earlier…she was rather pretty. But then, his book had been a little full last year, so he mightn't have found the time. And this year…well, he had been just plain busy, hadn't he!

As Draco walked towards them, he saw Zabini pull the girl towards him and start to kiss her passionately. Doesn't believe in wasting time, this guy, Draco thought wryly. But then his thoughts returned to his purpose, and his amusement was replaced with cold fury.

"Blaise!" Draco called rather loudly, considering it was a very quiet corridor, full of only couples who had their mouths too full to speak. A few couples broke apart at the sudden disturbance, but Zabini seemed oblivious.

"_Blaise_!" Draco was even louder this time, and nearly upon them. He saw the girl fidget, and more couples broke apart around them.

Finally, Zabini surfaced, wearing a most annoyed look on his face as he contemplated Draco. "What?" he asked rudely.

Draco caught him by his hand and pulled him away instead of answering. "Hey!" Zabini protested. Draco, however, continued to pull him along till they were out of the love lane, Zabini looking over his shoulder rather longingly.

"Look, mate, if you can't do better than Pansy, it doesn't mean none of us can. I was just getting warmed up, you know…" Zabini started complaining the moment they stopped, but Draco cut across him.

"Are you still serious about that bet concerning Raisingh?" he asked with barely suppressed anger.

"Wha…Rai….yeah…I guess so. But so what?" Zabini was nonplussed.

"So", Draco moved closer to him till they were nearly nose to nose, "Its on."

**A/N: Angry, angry Draco, naughty naughty Sia, and poor, poor Hermione! :-) Hope all of you are having wonderful holidays. Wish you all a very Happy New Year in advance.**


	11. Let's Talk

"Wha…?" Zabini stared at Draco, flummoxed. He knew Draco was riled…who wouldn't be if their girlfriend pulled a stunt like that in a classroom! But he couldn't understand Draco's reasons for accepting that bet about Raisingh _now_, specially since he had already waxed eloquent on the subject just a couple of days back. And he couldn't understand why Draco had to pull him out of what promised to be a good start to the week to announce his decision.

Pulling himself together, Zabini decided to get down to business. "Alright then", he said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "Terms."

"Tell me yours." Draco couldn't care less; he knew he had to win this bet. Anything to get even with that bitch.

"Hmm…lets see. You should be able to shag Raisingh before your birthday, failing which…" Zabini paused, thinking of what he most wanted. Yes, that was it; Draco's pride broken. "Failing which", he continued with a sudden gleam in his eyes, "You tell everyone in the birthday party exactly what this bet was, and how and why you failed in it. And admit that I, Blaise Zabini, am the true Slytherin prince, the most desirable guy in Hogwarts."

"Done." Draco didn't miss a beat.

Zabini's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "And oh, did I mention that Potter and his filthy friends will also be present to grace the occasion?" When Draco made no reply, Zabini went on, "Including Raisingh?"

As Draco's eyes narrowed at that, Zabini smiled. He knew that Draco would never want to lose face in front of the girl; they were beginning to make terrible history together. Eventually, however, Draco nodded, and an elated Zabini started to make his way back to his girl of the moment. Draco's voice, however, stopped him.

"Just a moment, Blaise. You seem to have forgotten something."

As Zabini looked back enquiringly, he noticed the smirk on Draco's face, which was never a good sign.

"Lets discuss what your side of the bargain will be, shall we?" Draco drawled, his smile a bit sinister, and Zabini fought down a feeling of trepidation. Once he had heard Draco out, he knew his instincts had been right.

* * *

Ron was walking down the corridor alone, having dumped Harry on the pretext of going to the loo. The truth was, he wanted to be alone right now. He wanted to think, without running his theories past Harry this time. And the object of his thoughts was the same as ever- Hermione.

He had been noticing the slight changes in Hermione since the past week- the skirt, the makeup, the gestures, the hair…everything. No matter how small they were, he had noticed them all, each with a growing sense of anxiety. And he had noticed something else that had started giving him sleepless nights off late- how her eyes flitted to Malfoy every now and then. It all added up to something so horrible he couldn't bear to put his incoherent thoughts in order.

As he turned a corner, he came upon the corridor that lead to the Heads' dorms. He wanted to go to Hermione and ask her outright…but ask her what! Ask her what she had been doing to herself lately? Ask her why she was suddenly so interested in Malfoy she spent more time looking at him rather than talking with her friends? And what had she done to her hair this morning…it was preposterous! So unlike her real self! And imagine, _he_ was the one apologizing! Ron sighed.

She was now looking better than she ever had, no doubt, but Ron didn't really like the implications of it. She had always been good enough for him the way she was, without changing anything about her. And he was worried what those changes implied. He closed his eyes as though in pain, and in fact he really was. The thought that she was changing herself for Malfoy was like a powerful punch in his solar plexus.

At first, he had thought he was imagining things…but the potions class today had confirmed his worst fears. He had looked up from his cauldron at Malfoy, as he had started doing nowadays just to check whether he had begun showing any interest in Hermione, and had found him staring at her with a heated gaze that burned Ron. He had looked at Hermione and found her fumbling with her robes. He recognized the look on Malfoy's face…it was lust. And the proof that he wasn't mistaken was Parkinson's behavior after that, which was a reaction born out of jealousy.

So did that mean he was going to lose Hermione to Malfoy? The thought was so painful he moaned aloud. Losing Hermione to someone else was like a kick in the gut, and when that someone else was Malfoy, it was like repeated kicks in the gut with kicks in the face added. And then, there was the thought that he would hurt Hermione…Ron didn't for a moment believe that he would be serious about her. He would just have her, as he had had several girls last year, and then he would leave her to mend a broken heart, because Ron also knew that Hermione would never sleep with any guy unless she was in love with him.

Hermione, in love with Malfoy? Ron put his hands on his ears as if to block out the sound of his own thoughts, and groaned aloud, "No….!"

"Talking to your head, Weasley?" An amused drawl behind him made him spin around in horror, and to his consternation, he found that it was his nemesis that had caught him showing weakness.

"You know its widely believed to be the first sign of madness." Draco continued conversationally as he reached Ron. Ron turned crimson, and his initial shock started giving way to a mounting anger.

"You would know Malfoy, because you are surrounded by such people." He spat back.

Draco smiled deviously, and mocked his choice of words. "Nowadays, the only person I come in regular contact with is Granger. While she has her faults, I wouldn't go so far as to call her mad. Tsk tsk, such words for your friend!" Draco admonished him amusedly.

"Don't you dare talk about her!" Ron nearly yelled, and pulled out his wand. "Don't you dare speak with her…don't you dare get near her….don't you dare touch her." Ron's voice started getting quieter and more menacing by degrees, and by the time he reached the end of his statement, he was nearly whispering.

Draco considered Ron, and raised his eyebrows. Then he folded his hands and cocked his head to one side, and asked him mildly, "Else?"

"Else", Ron took one step nearer him, and waved his wand threateningly in Draco's face, who refused to blink. "Else, I get you." Ron spoke in a dangerous voice.

Draco brushed an imaginary speck of dust off his robes, and studied his cuticles. Then he raised his eyes to Ron's, and smirked. "I have spoken about her, to her, have been living near her, and on one or two occasions, even touched her. So now, get me."

As Ron's eyes widened at his nerve and he raised his wand furiously, Draco continued calmly. "Get me, and then face the consequences. I am the Head Boy; I will give you a detention for every evening for the entire year, and take so many points off Gryffindor they would have to put more rubies in the hourglass."

Ron smiled at him then. "Typical, abusing power and threatening people when you cant face them. Typical, Malfoy. But that doesn't scare me." He sneered.

Draco smiled back at him, and continued silkily, "And you can also explain to Granger why you ambushed me while I was returning to my dormitory, attacked me when I was unarmed, and scarpered."

At Ron's incredulous look, he continued with a smirk, "You know Granger, she is such a stickler for rules and doing the right thing…she won't forgive you for this. And then, what would happen to you, and the romantic notions that you harbor for her? Who knows, she might go off with someone else, someone who is more…worthy of her!"

He had hit a nerve, as that was exactly what had been holding Ron back from asking Hermione out. He feared he wasn't worthy of her. And hearing the truth from Malfoy's mouth only made him angrier. He pounced on him suddenly then, and grabbing hold of the front of his robes, pushed his wand into Malfoy's face, pressing the tip on his cheekbone. "Why you….?" He started grounding out, but then…

"Ronald Weasley! What the hell do you think you are doing?" Hermione had come up behind them, and was now eyeing Ron with a look of shock and disbelief.

Ron was by now so angry he didn't care. Color shot up his cheeks as he let go of Malfoy and turned on Hermione.

"What _do_ you think am I doing, Hermione? I am trying to teach this git a lesson, and if you are half as smart as I think you are, you would let me." With that, he turned on his heels and stormed off.

Hermione stood rooted to the spot for a few seconds, wondering what had happened. Draco raised one finger to rub the spot where Ron's wand tip had pressed into his flesh and raised one eyebrow at her, and she suddenly came to her senses and ran after a retreating Ron.

"Ron…Ron…wait, Ron!" she cried after him, but his much longer strides had carried him out of sight even as Hermione continued to dash after him.

Draco shrugged nonchalantly and drawled out the password to the portrait, "Trollish Chatter" and entered the comfortable Heads' common room. He shrugged off his robes and threw them on a straight-backed chair that was the only bit of uncomfortable furniture in the dormitory. He continued on his way up a winding staircase to his own dormitory that was guarded by the portrait of a huge, acid green serpent, unbuttoning his shirt as he walked.

"Bloodline", he murmured, and the serpent hissed once and the door to his apartment opened. Draco threw down his shirt on the deep velvet armchair by the door, and continued to walk towards the mullioned windows at the far side of the room, unzipping his trousers. He opened the windows to stare at the stretch of castle grounds before him, with the huge black lake glistening in the distance. Then he turned towards his wardrobe, selecting black slacks and a green pullover. Getting rid of his trousers, he donned the selected garments and stood to adjust his hair in front of the beautiful gilded mirror, before throwing a careless look at his luxurious four-poster covered in midnight blue spread with a green serpent embroidered in the center and walking out.

He would have to speak with Granger about this nonsense she was getting up to, there was no longer any choice, Draco mused as he sprawled out on the comfortable couch in front of the fire in the common room. What had happened today in Potions should never, ever happen again; else all his future plans would go kaput. He didn't want to see Granger in that light, and yet if she persisted in her efforts to snare Weasley by such methods, he didn't know if he would be able to play the gentleman. Already the image of her generous cleavage was burned in his eyes, and he didn't dare close his eyes for longer than was absolutely necessary to avoid seeing it again. She was his ticket to Potter's inner circle if he decided to join forces with the Order, and messing around with her was not exactly going to help his cause.

He stretched out fully on the couch and closed his eyes at last, concentrating on what he was going to say to her.

* * *

Hermione ran all the way down from her fifth floor dorm to the Great Hall, where students were beginning to assemble for dinner, but found no sign of Ron. She concluded he had gone up to the Gryffindor Tower instead, and considered for a moment following him there. But she decided that she wasn't really mentally or emotionally prepared to face company tonight, specially the inquisitive kind of Ginny and Sia. As much as she wanted to see Ron at the moment, she bitterly conceded defeat and headed back to the Heads' Dorm. She didn't really relish the prospect of facing Malfoy tonight either, but with luck she might be able to avoid him. As it was, they were not on speaking terms since he had called her 'mudblood' on the quidditch pitch a couple of days ago.

Come to think of it, she was so embarrassed she didn't mind if she never had to face him again, ever. She still didn't know what had caused her wardrobe malfunction, but her cheeks turned crimson at the very thought of the look on Malfoy's face. She had seen that look before; it was the way many boys looked at Ginny and Sia. But she had never seen that look on any guy's face before for herself. Even Ron had never looked at her like that, not that he was looking at her a lot these days. But what if Ron had been looking at her, without her noticing, and that little scene up there was because he had noticed something in potions class…oh Merlin! Hermione shuddered to think that Ron should notice something that she didn't want anyone to know…something so humiliating. And it wasn't even her fault, but would he believe that? Not in his legendary anger, no.

Hermione was walking back with such miserable thoughts for company, when suddenly, a long shadow detached itself from the general shadow of the castle walls itself, and came to stand right in front of her.

"Hello Granger. Going somewhere?"

She blanched as she saw the mouth that spoke the words smile.

* * *

Ron thundered up to the Gryffindor Tower, and snarled the password 'Persephone' to the Fat Lady, who wrinkled her nose at his anger.

He threw himself inside the common room and made heavily towards the comfortable armchairs by the fire, towering menacingly over its occupants, first years that had lagged behind others leaving for dinner, throwing himself in a chair the moment they ran away frightened.

Harry, who was sitting by the window trying to do his Herbology homework, looked up at him mildly surprised. Ron and his mood swings went hand in hand, and he had learnt to ignore most of them. This however, seemed to be worse than most. But he knew better than to ask; he was really hungry and didn't want to spoil his appetite with a typical outburst from his best friend. He knew from experience the reason could only be Hermione.

Ginny lacked Harry's foresight, though. She had just come down from her dormitory and had noticed Harry sitting by the window. As she made her way over to him, she heard a big 'huff' from the chair by the fire. She smiled; it could only be her brother trying to show them he was upset over something.

"What happened, Ron?" She asked indulgently, even as Harry groaned inwardly.

Ron didn't reply immediately. Harry hadn't released his breath yet, as he knew Ron. As Ginny turned nonchalantly away from Ron, he suddenly burst out. "MALFOY!"

Ginny turned back to him, intrigued. Even Harry raised his eyebrows; this was certainly unexpected, as Malfoy, for some strange reason, had left them strictly alone since becoming Head Boy. Harry would have bet his Firebolt that he would be unbearable, but on reflection, was glad that he hadn't.

"What?" he asked, inspite of himself.

"That evil, twisted…" Ron seemed lost for words after that.

"Well, we know all that. But what did he do?" Ginny asked impatiently, dropping down into the chair opposite him, followed by Harry who propped himself on the armrest by her side.

"He…he…" Ron spluttered, trying to find the right words. Ginny fidgeted impatiently and Harry laid a restraining arm on her.

"He what Ron?" He asked quietly.

Ron seemed to gather courage from Harry's gravity, and decided in that instant to open his heart to his best friend.

"He is giving Hermione the eye, the evil git." He spoke hoarsely.

"What?" Harry asked incredulously, as Ginny smiled slyly.

"I saw him…he was looking at her in potions…he had that look in his eyes…wanted her…that's why Parkinson…she saw him…lost her head…" Ron whispered; he seemed to be collapsing right in front of their eyes, and as Harry hurried over to him, even Ginny looked at him in alarm and concern.

"Ron…I'm sure it's not like that. Maybe you were mistak…" Ginny began, but was instantly steamrollered by Ron, who shouted out wildly, "_I am not mistaken_!"

The few remaining people in the common room looked up in alarm and quickly left for dinner.

Harry waited for the common room to empty, then began quietly, "I am not saying you are mistaken, Ron, but you are forgetting one thing; Hermione. She will never stoop so low as to think of Malfoy as anything except an annoying ferret."

Inspite of his hypersensitive state, Ron smiled bitterly at his words.

"Yeah…I am forgetting Hermione." He managed to rasp out sarcastically, thinking about the way her eyes seemed to seek out Malfoy every five minutes.

Ginny was now seriously worried; their plan was backfiring so badly she didn't know how to handle it. She wanted to calm Ron down first; he seemed to be going over the edge. She had no idea he had such deep feelings for Hermione.

Suddenly, she remembered the bottle of Calming Draught she had seen in Sia's trunk a few days back when she had been sitting in her dormitory. That could certainly help Ron now. True, Sia wasn't there, but Ginny felt sure she would understand once she became aware of Ron's condition.

She dashed up and was back with the bottle even before either of the boys realized she had gone. Ron was too distracted to notice anything, anyways. At Harry's raised eyebrows, she merely murmured, "Calming Draught" , and with her eyes motioned him to hold Ron as she tried to tip the contents into his mouth. But Ron was shaking so much, all the while speaking incoherently, that the task was nearly impossible.

After asking him repeatedly to take the potion, and trying unsuccessfully to give it to him by force, Ginny turned to Harry and spoke a bit fiercely, "Just put the Body Bind on him, why don't you?" She was worried sick about his condition now.

"Because that would clamp his mouth shut, that's why." Harry retorted a bit shortly; he was worried, and also weary of Ron's resistance. He was rapidly coming to the conclusion that Malfoy had put a spell on him; he couldn't really believe his firebrand friend could be reduced to this state simply because he had seen some other guy giving Hermione the "eye".

Before Ginny could reply waspishly, the portrait door opened and Sia walked in.

"Hey, where have you people been? I was waiting in the Great Hall for…" Sia broke off as she saw Ron. "Whats wrong with Ron?"

"Never mind that, just help us give this potion to him." Ginny hurriedly told her before Harry could say anything.

Sia seemed puzzled as she came closer, and then she saw the bottle in Ginny's hand and her face turned into a canvas of rapidly changing emotions. The last one that stayed was terror.

"What the…how did you…why…is that **my** bottle you are holding in your hand, Ginevra?" She asked abruptly after several tries to get a single statement out.

"Yes, and I am sorry I took it without asking, but Ron here neede…" Ginny began, but her voice was drowned by Sia's screech and the look of wild fury that suddenly descended on her.

"Ron does NOT need that, whatever he's been up to, and if you EVER dare to touch my belongings again without asking, I will turn you into Arnold's sister." With that, she snatched the bottle away from a startled Ginny and stormed up the stairs to her dorm, banging the door behind her so loudly it rattled on its hinges.

Harry and Ginny stared at each other in shock, and even Ron quieted down after hearing that outburst, the sound of which could have carried to Hagrid's hut in his opinion.

"What on earth was that about?" He asked incredulously into the ringing silence, and both Harry and Ginny jumped at hearing him speak normally again.

Before they could say anything to him, however, they heard a small noise from the direction of the windows, and all three turned as one to gaze in amazement as Neville crawled out from behind a chair, clutching Trevor in his hand.

As he saw them staring at him, his ears turned red and he said the first thing that popped in his head, "Who's Arnold?"

* * *

Hermione stormed into the Heads' dorm, her head buzzing with anger. How dare he, the stuck-up son of a pureblooded bitch! How dare he try that with her, Hermione Granger! A mudblood in his book, of all things! The insufferable…

Her thoughts came to a sudden halt as a tall figure rose from the couch in front of the fire and she caught her breath yet again.

"Not killed Weasley, I hope. Can't say I'm not touched by the gesture, but he really didn't do anything, or rather, couldn't do anything, as I was saved by your most opportune arrival. I will eternally be in your debt for saving me from the most gruesome death that I couldn't have avoided." Malfoy spoke with seemingly sincere feelings with a hand on his heart, and took a bow at the end of it. However, his eyes were glittering with laughter.

Hermione frowned at him. She was in no mood for his frivolities.

"Save your concern for _your_ best friend, Malfoy. Ron has his own." She spat at him.

"_My best friend_?" Draco raised his eyebrows at her. It was amazing how he could put scorn on even the simplest of phrases. "I didn't even realize I had a 'best friend', Granger! Please reveal his or her identity to me so I can be by their side immediately."

Hermione scowled at him darkly, finally yelling, "Zabini!"

Draco's expression instantly closed, though Hermione rather thought she detected a trace of a smile before his face became a smooth mask. "Oh", was all he offered.

Hermione was disgruntled at his lack of interest. Well, she would tell him whether he wanted to hear it or not.

"He's going to be sorry he ever tried that with me, the evil creature! If he hadn't…" Hermione had started letting off the steam, but Draco could win awards for his irritating interruptions.

"Isn't evil a strong word for him?" he asked mildly.

"Certainly not!" Hermione cried indignantly, thrown off the track. She glared at Malfoy for a few seconds, who looked back with a polite interest, and then recollecting what she was about to say, started again.

"I would never have believed he would come up with such weird behavior in front of me…"

"Weird behavior?" Draco probed with a carefully concealed mounting amusement.

Hermione was suddenly confused as to what to say. But then she remembered the look on Zabini's face, and her anger quotient went right up.

"He tried to, well, hit on me…if you must know…"

"Did he now? Never had much sense." Draco managed to put in.

"…And his attitude was like, hey mudblood, isn't this your lucky day! He actually refused to believe that I wasn't interested…"

"Conceit is something we Slytherins learn to live with."

"…Well, now he would believe it just fine, after what I have done to him." She finished with a degree of satisfaction.

There was a momentary silence in the room, broken only by the fire crackling in the hearth. Draco was looking at Hermione with a curious expression on his face. Finally, he broke the silence.

"What did you do to him?" he asked, a masked emotion running behind his words.

"Well, shall we just say he will have to spend a couple of days in the Hospital Wing, that is, when someone manages to find him." Hermione's smile was uncharacteristically ruthless.

"Didn't you slap him?" Draco asked, shock and disappointment evident in his words now.

"Slap him? I did much more than that, if you'd care to listen. Now he resembles an overblown slug, oozing all over the place. The disgusting wretch!" Hermione sniffed.

"You mean you _didn't_ slap him?" Draco huffed.

Hermione looked at Draco curiously, and the look on his face instantly drove all her anger away. He looked so disappointed, so crestfallen, like a petulant little boy whose favorite TV show had just been cancelled, though of course he wouldn't know what a TV show is. Hermione felt like giggling, but controlled the impulse.

"I did", she admitted quietly, and he instantly perked up. "When I told him I wasn't interested, he tried to grab me. Then I hit him. Of course, after that he got downright nasty and tried to hex the 'little mudblood for having the temerity to refuse a pureblood' like him. But I draw wand faster." Hermione recounted with slight amusement now, although the situation had been anything but funny at that time. She had been miserable and worried sick over Ron, and then that stupid git had to come along to compound her problems. She had been really frightened before the time for some action had come.

Draco looked pleased with himself now, for some unaccountable reason. He sat down comfortably on the couch and spread out his long legs in front of him, turning slightly to look at Hermione.

"You know, I have always felt that to make a perfect Slytherin, all you need is Theo's brains and Blaise's looks. But no, one has to look like a monkey and the other has to act like one."

Hermione had to smile at that. She wondered vaguely how the superbly smug Zabini and the arrogant Nott would take to being likened to their Rhesus cousins. Not kindly, she was ready to bet.

"So that leaves you to stake your own claim to the crown, is it?" she asked him amusedly.

"I _am_ the official holder of the crown, Granger…I just wonder sometimes about successors to my legacy." Draco replied easily.

"Conceited, aren't we?" Hermione laughed.

"No, just painfully honest." Draco smiled. Hermione smiled back, shaking her head at him. It was just like the camaraderie they had come to share before that incident a few days back. Draco patted the couch next to him, inviting her to join him. She started to walk towards him and was about to sit down when recent events suddenly refreshed themselves in her memory, and she froze.

"What?" he asked her, noticing her stiff posture.

"I have to go for dinner", Hermione answered him frostily, and started to walk away when his voice halted her.

"Liar."

Hermione turned to glare at him coldly. "Excuse me?"

"The first casualty when you are upset over something is always your meal, and right now you are upset because of Weasley and your unresolved differences. Furthermore, if you had felt like eating, you would have gone right down to the Great Hall after chasing Weasley all over the place instead of coming back up here." Draco smirked at a stunned Hermione. He folded his arms over his chest and asked her kindly, "So tell me, why are you trying to avoid me?"

"You seem to notice a great deal about people." Hermione hedged.

"I notice a lot more than you do, because my eyes are not perpetually glued to a book. But that's hardly the point. I want to know whats wrong, why you have been avoiding me like dragon pox for some days now, and I want you to tell me now." He again patted the couch, gesturing her to sit.

Hermione ignored his gesture, and folded her own arms over her chest, staring at him coldly.

"Oh, how can a mean little mudblood like me dare to avoid the great Malfoy!" she asked sarcastically.

Draco let out a long breath and relaxed.

"So that's whats bothering you. It was your fault Granger; you provoked me. That thing was between Raisingh and me, and you jumped in shouting nonsense at me without any reason. I behaved with a lot of restraint, if you ask me. Now come and sit here, we have to talk."

"I provoked you? Sia is a friend of mine and I couldn't just stand around and watch you walk over her over whatever it was that happened between you…" Hermione seethed.

"Exactly." Draco cut in. "You don't know what happened between us, and that's all the more reason why you should've stayed out of it. And I could hardly have stood around after you insulted me in front of my team without retaliating in some way. The way I see it, we are even. And if you don't come here and sit down right now then I swear I'm going to come right there, haul you up like a sack of dirty laundry and plant your stubborn butt on this place so hard you won't be able to get up for days." Draco finished darkly.

Hermione looked at him warily, considering his threat. "I don't take orders from anyone, Malfoy", she huffed, sounding braver than she felt.

"I tried to issue you with polite invitations, but that doesn't seem to work with you. And I can speak whatever language it takes to get the message across." Draco told her bluntly.

"We have nothing to talk about." Hermione continued to resist the idea of sitting down beside him; the incident of the Potions class that morning was beginning to haunt her now.

"Oh, but we do. Now come here, and this is the final warning." Draco's eyes were pure silver now, making him look dangerously ominous.

Hermione started backing off from the room towards the stairs…if only she could reach her own room in time and shut him out.

Draco saw what she was doing, swore under his breath and stood up with a quick feline grace that caught Hermione by surprise. As she turned and ran towards the stairs, Draco caught up with her easily and true to his words, catching hold of her, swung her across his shoulder and carried her to the couch with long strides, holding her in place with a hand just under her buttocks. Before she could even begin to squirm in humiliation and anger, he set her down exactly at the spot he had been indicating, though the promised force was thankfully absent.

When Hermione finally looked up, her face crimson with a mix of embarrassment and anger, it was to find Draco lounging comfortably beside her just as before, staring intently at the fire. She wanted to scream many things at him, and also wanted to get out of there as fast as she could, but remained rooted to the spot, speechless.

"And now", Draco spoke quietly as though nothing had happened, "we talk." Hermione shivered.

** A/N: A very Happy New Year to all my readers, and a great big thank you to all those who take the time out to review!**


	12. My Friend Draco

Draco continued to stare at the fire for some time, and Hermione wondered if she could slip away unnoticed, but decided to stay put in case he got physical again. She supposed she must be terribly rattled by what had just happened, so rattled in fact that she felt nothing at all. But then Draco spoke, and feelings rushed back into her.

"Granger, what the hell are you up to?" he sighed at last.

"What do you mean?" Hermione squeaked, although she felt she knew what he meant. This was going to get embarrassing in a big way, and she didn't know how to avoid it.

"I think you know what I mean, Granger. But if you want me to spell it out, fine. What have you been doing to yourself lately? Have you taken a look at yourself in the mirror in recent times? I am sure you will be seeing a stranger there. What is all this in aid of?" Draco tried to keep his voice neutral.

Hermione stiffened. Surely this was not something a guy should be talking about with a girl! Guys just appreciate, don't they? They don't ask questions. But then, whoever said Malfoy was a normal guy.

"Are you sure you should be asking me such questions, Malfoy? This is my personal life, after all, and its my business if I decide to change my looks a little…" Hermione spoke dismissively, nose in air, only to be cut off.

"_A little_? Take a good look at yourself, my dear witch; you'll hardly be able to recognize yourself. I already know why you are doing all this…"

Hermione gasped aloud in horror.

"What? Do you think I don't know you are sweet on Weasel King? While I don't think much about your choice, I do find your pathetic attempts to catch his attention…a bit distasteful, and quite commonplace, frankly." Draco turned his mouth down at the corner.

Hermione began to breathe freely. For a moment she had thought he had deduced that he was the target of the 'Ron Won Project'.

"I mean, c'mon, I expected a bit more imagination from you girls. You are obviously new at this game, but Raisingh disappointed me. Pathetic. If you can't get a relatively simple guy like Weasley to look at you, what can you do?" Draco was disdainful.

It was difficult enough doing all those things in the first place, and now hearing him speak about her efforts deprecatingly irritated Hermione. Add to that his insouciance of the past week, and Hermione was starting to simmer.

Draco considered her for a moment, waiting for some response, and then started again.

"I have been watching your futile attempts for an entire week now, and wouldn't have said anything at all, eventhough you were going about it the wrong way, but frankly, after potions today, I don't really think I can allow you to make a fool of yourself any further. It was foolish in the extreme…" Draco was continuing in a lecturing manner, and Hermione, already feeling the pressure on her temper valve, was pushed over the edge by his mention of what happened earlier in the day.

"Oh, foolish, was it? Well, let me tell you, I had nothing to do with it. Absolutely nothing. I don't know what happened or how, and if you even _dare_ to suggest otherwise, I will hex you to Greenland." Hermione glared at him darkly.

Draco was a bit taken aback at her vehement reaction, but was determined to get to the bottom of this.

"Are you trying to tell me it was _not _a part of your plan to catch Weasley's eyeballs?" he asked, disbelief evident in his voice and face and Hermione, embarrassed and furious, lost it suddenly.

"No, you dunderhead, it wasn't! It was never the plan to catch Ron's eyeballs in any case", yelled Hermione, absolutely livid. "It was _your_ eyeballs we were after, you idio…" Hermione suddenly stopped and stared at him wild-eyed, clapping her hands to her mouth in mortification.

A heavy silence hung between them, as though the air itself had gained weight. Draco stared at Hermione for a long time, taking in her high color, her anxiety, her discomfiture, her…whats that! Tears in her eyes! Draco let out a long sigh.

Hermione looked up at him fearfully, not quite sure what to do. But she was glad to notice he hadn't hexed her yet, or got visibly angry. But it was difficult to say with him.

"Why?" he finally asked her, something unidentifiable rippling in his voice, giving her goose bumps.

"I ….I am…sorry…" she whispered miserably.

Draco continued to stare at her, willing her to answer his question with his eyes. Hermione wanted to drop her gaze, but her innate honesty stopped her. She had made a mistake, and she would admit it like a true Gryffindor.

"It started off innocently enough", Hermione started speaking quietly, feeling a bit relieved when he turned his gaze to the fire, as though he realized his accusing eyes were making things all the more difficult for her. "It was about Ron not paying attention to me, and all that…and before we knew it, it was about making him jealous or something. Ginny thought I should start dating someone else…but Sia thought it would be too obvious. And then…" Hermione faltered, unable to go on, unable to think now how they had made him a scapegoat in the entire affair. She couldn't quite comprehend how she had agreed to do this in the first place. It all sounded so sordid now, and cold-blooded.

"And then?" Draco prompted, unable to believe that the girl he had thought as simple and innocent could actually try something sneaky directed at him. He had always known Granger to be clever and intelligent, but not in this area.

"And then…Malfoy, I said I am sorry. Can we just forget about this, please?" she pleaded with him, her moist eyes seeking his beseechingly.

"You obviously wanted to make a fool of me in this Catch-Weasley game of yours, so now why not admit it! Pansy's behavior should give you an indication that you succeeded partially. And then, Snape gives me _seven_ detentions! He has never given me a single detention in all this time! And today, because of you, not only do I get a detention for every day of the week, but the entire class gets an opportunity to laugh at me. At Draco Malfoy! I don't know what you originally wanted, but all of this must've come as an added bonus, surely. So why feel ashamed now at recounting the grisly details to me, Granger? Tell me, I want to know everything." Draco spoke quietly enough, but now Hermione could detect the thin thread of violence running through his words, and felt a chill run down her spine. He turned to look at her once again, and again she saw the pure silver his gray eyes had become, frightening in their opacity, making him look menacing.

"Malfoy…I am truly sorry", she choked out through her tears that were now running freely down her cheeks. "It was never my intention to…"

"To what? Make a fool of me? Make me a laughing stock? Play some kind of sick joke on me? What wasn't part of your great plan Granger, I don't actually care. But I do want to know what your intention really was, after, if I might be permitted to add, my civil behavior towards you. " Draco was furious, and his cold anger and quiet voice, in sharp contrast to Harry and Ron's blazing outbursts, frightened Hermione as little else did.

"I admit I am a pureblood elitist. That's the way I am, and I am not sorry for it. But I thought we might be able to live together in peace if we put behind our animosity, and I did my bit by being cordial towards you, a muggleborn, which is not a small thing for a Malfoy to do. I am not asking for undying gratitude from you, but neither did I expect you to make me the class jester. And then you put on a huge act of being hurt because I called you a mudblood! Double standards in the extreme, that's what I call it. And this sneaky affair you are embroiled in, after your innocent act of over six years, it does surprise me a bit. And to think you are saint Potter's best friend! Tell me, is he in on the joke too?" Draco sneered.

Tears of humiliation and shame continued to pour down her face and she shivered under the coolness of his gaze, struggling to put their original intention into words that wouldn't anger him or damn her. It seemed impossible, but she knew she had to tell him the whole truth now.

"Ron hates you like he hates no one", Hermione began in a dead sort of voice, "and the idea was that if you seemed to take an interest in me, it would fire him up to…" Hermione was unable to go on, but didn't really need to when he cut across her.

"So you decided to make Weasley jealous through _me_? You are daft enough to think of Weasley and me in the same light? You actually assumed he and I could be rivals at anything? And I thought you were intelligent." His voice was full of disbelief and scorn.

His thinly veiled insults directed at Ron got through to her even in her misery, and she stiffened. But then she heard a quiet laughter. She stared in confusion as she saw him laughing quietly at the fire, and then he turned to her.

Draco stopped laughing when he saw the bewilderment in her eyes, and pinned her with a penetrating stare. She really had no idea what she was about, poor girl. She really was an innocent; but the time had come to make her aware of the implications of her actions.

"What would have happened Granger," he asked silkily, his quiet words gliding along her skin in the stillness of the room, making her shiver, "if I had really become _interested_?" His eyes were still silver but, instead of holding the opaqueness of his anger, now they were liquid pools of devilry.

Caught off-balance by the sudden change in his mood, and even in the air around them, Hermione gulped involuntarily, suddenly realizing what he meant. Why hadn't this situation look so dangerous in theory as it was in reality, she wondered over her rapidly escalating heartbeat.

"Let me think, you didn't really consider that possibility, did you! What did you think I am, Granger, a silly little boy or a eunuch? Or maybe a homosexual! After that show you put on today, didn't you realize the danger you were in? Even before today when you were trying to get me interested, did you ever stop to think what would happen if I really started fancying you? Take a moment to think now." His voice was laced with amusement, but Hermione didn't find anything even remotely funny about her situation.

"Granger, you must have heard rumors about me in the school; I profess I don't know all of them, but believe me, most of them are true. I am a certified Bad Boy, the kind of boy all mothers warn their nicey-nice daughters about. Luckily for the Bad Boy Brigade, nice girls seldom listen to their mothers." He raised his eyebrows in derision, and Hermione blushed.

"While I admit I like to take a little time with the girl I get interested in, unlike Blaise, for instance, but believe me, when I do get _interested_, locked doors and passwords and little hexes and jinxes can't keep me away. If I had decided to have you the day you decided to put your lovely legs on display, we wouldn't be having this conversation, for one thing, because right now both of us would have been either in your bed or mine. And, mind you, you would have wanted and loved every moment of it." Draco finished wickedly, making Hermione's ears burn with embarrassment. She hastily dropped her eyes, and Draco noticed.

"The idea, Granger, is not to embarrass you, but to make you realize that I am not a plaything. In fact, far from it. I am way out of your league, Granger. The games I play have rules that would shock you, and I have probably forgotten more about girls than Scarhead or Weaselbee are ever going to find out. The only reason you are as yet saved from a proper retribution for your audacity in playing with fire is" Draco paused for effect as he gazed into Hermione's wide, fearful eyes, "you are an innocent."

Hermione listened in silence to the wild thudding of her own heart, suddenly and very curiously reminded of similar sentiments voiced by a wild herd of centaurs a couple of years back.

"We do not attack the innocent", she echoed her thoughts aloud without realizing she had spoken, until she saw Draco give her a curious look.

"Has anyone ever told you Granger that you are really weird?"

"Yes…I mean, no." Hermione spluttered. She was acutely embarrassed and every moment spent in his company was increasing her awkwardness. She was beginning to think she would have preferred his anger to his derision, and all his candid admissions about himself had left her tongue-tied. She could not believe that a guy had just talked to her about things she didn't even discuss with Ginny. She also couldn't believe that she had just been shouted at most thoroughly, albeit quietly, and scolded, but in such a manner that she couldn't really complain.

As she sat there and pondered over everything, unable to come up with a single thing to say, Draco took out his wand and waved it twice, and a plate of sandwiches and two bottles of butterbeer appeared before them on the low table. Hermione glanced up at him, surprised, and he shrugged his shoulders, adding, "I don't feel like going down for dinner, and I rather thought you wouldn't either."

She felt so numb she couldn't even manage a smile of thanks, and her effort came out looking closer to a grimace. Draco, who fully understood that he had rattled her pretty badly, simply gestured her to eat.

Both of them took a sandwich and their bottle of butterbeer, and munched in silence for a while. Inspite of her lingering feeling of embarrassment and discomfiture, Hermione managed to eat quite a bit, surprising herself. But the silence was anything but companionable, and something kept eating away at Hermione, until she could bear it no longer. If it had been Harry or Ron, or any other boy, she would never have dared to voice her concern, but somehow, she felt she could ask Malfoy. After all, he already knew the worst of her.

"Umm..Malfoy!" she ventured tentatively.

"Hmm?" he asked, his mouth full of cheese and ham.

"Did you…I mean, do you…erm…do I …" Draco raised his eyebrows as she struggled to find words and courage. He looked at her straight in the eye, and strangely enough, Hermione seemed to draw courage from him.

"Malfoy, do you think there is something wrong with me?" she blurted out before she lost heart.

Draco continued to look at her, munching slowly, then finally asked, "As in?"

"As in…well, I know I never paid attention to what I looked like, but now, when I did… I mean, neither Ron nor you noticed it…" she trailed off awkwardly, pink with embarrassment.

Draco silently wondered how a seemingly clever, intelligent girl could be so stupid and ignorant, but then, as she fancied Weasley he shouldnt really be surprised. Clever she might be, but she had missed a few buses along the way. He realized he was walking on shaky ground now. One wrong word, and he would find himself on the wrong end of a wand. Possibly even three. With a few nights in the Hospital Wing.

"What makes you think that Weasley and I didn't take notice?" he asked carefully.

"What? I mean…you never…well, showed it…did you? Either of you?" she nearly whispered.

"Didn't you get enough reaction out of both of us today?" he asked quietly.

"No." At Draco's raised eyebrows, she hastened to explain herself. "I meant…you know, the way boys generally look at Sia and Ginny…its so different from the way they look at me, if they look at all." She finished miserably.

"Don't compare yourself to them…they are different. Weaselette is, I suppose, a looker, with her striking red hair and a famous Scar on her arm. And Raisingh has class". And a body, he thought to himself. "She can carry off almost anything. You three do have a short fuse, though, and have a general tendency to flare up at the drop of a hat, but that I suppose is a Gryffindor trait. Otherwise, you all are as different as chalk and cheese." Draco spoke neutrally.

"Ginny has looks and Sia has class…you didn't say anything about me." Hermione murmured, and Draco sighed.

"Granger, you have the brains of three people inside you, and you are decent and sort of, naïve, an ingénue, which neither of them are. And if you think its not complimentary enough, then I assure you that if either of them had tried to pull a similar stunt on me, then I wouldn't have forgiven them." He finished a bit irritably.

Hermione's eyes lit up. "So you have forgiven me?" she asked hopefully.

"Didn't I just say that?" Draco feigned despair.

Hermione lowered her head, tears springing to her eyes inexplicably. "Thank you", she whispered tremulously.

"If you are thinking of shedding any more tears, I may have to conjure a tub." He added dryly.

Hermione laughed at that. He was alright in his own way, she thought. And after what she had tried with him, she could say he was nice. Very nice. She couldn't imagine Ron or even Harry forgiving her so readily. She felt very warm towards him suddenly, wanting to repay his kindness in some way, and not knowing how.

"You know, Malfoy, I never thought you would be such a nice…"she began warmly, only to be silenced by his snort.

"_Nice?_ Haven't you been listening to me, Granger? I am NOT nice. I am anything BUT nice. Just because I have sterling good looks and don't howl at the full moon doesn't mean I am NOT the Big Bad Wolf. So stay away from me, if you know whats good for you; I bite." But he smiled to take the edge out of his words, and Hermione found herself beaming at him.

Draco relaxed a bit. That had gone well, he thought. He had managed to stop her from doing a strip tease and even more importantly, managed to rein in his anger upon finding out that she had been essentially using him to get Weasley. That had really hurt his pride. Ouch. Imagine the Gryffindor Good-Girl manipulating a Malfoy! But he had managed to come out smelling roses. Three cheers for the Sly Slytherins, and their indisputable prince, he smirked to himself.

"By the way, did you think up such an elaborately sneaky plan all by yourself, or…" Draco considered the high color creeping up her cheeks, and expelled a long breath. "Well well, what do you know? Seems Raisingh is a lot more devious than I gave her credit for. Makes me kind of glad, in retrospect, that I…" he murmured quietly, but stopped as he realized he couldn't blurt out the truth about his bet to Hermione.

At Hermione's puzzled look, he hastily changed the topic. "What made you girls cook up such a lousy scheme to get a guy's attention?"

"L..l..lousy?" Hermione sputtered, not completely at ease yet, and decidedly uncomfortable with the topic. "It was , well, Si…er, the idea was quite straightforward. If Ron notices you noticing me, he starts noticing me as he has never noticed me before…" Hermione started rambling, and Draco looked his disbelief.

"This is _straightforward_?" Draco was incredulous. " Are you quite sure it never occurred to anyone of you to simply ask him out yourself if he is a bit…well…shy? Hmm?" Draco asked sardonically.

Hermione gaped at him, and he laughed. "Evidently not!" Hermione turned pink again.

Then he sobered up, and taking pity on her, spoke quite seriously, "A guy prefers a straightforward approach-not your kind of straightforward, of course, but a really simple course of action. If he is interested in you, he asks you out without a fuss. If you are interested in him, you ask him out without resorting to any underhanded means. If he says yes, you rock, if he says no, you look somewhere else. Simple." He grinned at her, and life itself suddenly looked really simple.

Hermione shook herself mentally. "But Sia said…" she began to argue, but completing a sentence with him around was really difficult.

"I am sure Raisingh knows a lot about the male body, and I am equally certain that none of it has anything to do with the male brain." He asserted impishly, and Hermione blushed at his implication. Well, Sia certainly seemed very knowledgeable about boys, so she couldn't really argue the point.

"I can scarcely believe I am actually fixing up the twisted love life of Weasley, but anyway. Look Granger, I am sure you know that he has a soft spot for you, right?" Hermione nodded pedantically, and he suppressed a sudden desire to slide in a snide remark; he knew he wasn't going to score points with maliciousness.

"Then…I am not going to ask what was the need for your 'straightforward' approach, but I will definitely tell you one thing; it simply cannot be that Weasley would have failed to notice the changes in you. I mean, he does little else except shoot covert glances at you. Look at how badly he fares in classes if you don't believe me. Anyhow, to get to the point, assuming that he has noticed the revolutionary new you, what do you think that has done to him? He hasn't asked you out, although admittedly I am at fault here for failing to fall in with the plan. But still, what do you think he feels now?" Draco was enjoying himself thoroughly, watching Hermione squirm and imagining the mental state of Weasley.

Hermione paled at his words. Was Ron really noticing her all this time? What _did _he think of her behavior? And what did he notice today? Surely he hadn't seen what Malfoy had…oh, Merlin! Was that why he was here earlier, to confront her? Hermione started wringing her hands absently at the thought, her conclusions rapidly jumping from bad to worse.

"Say something Granger, you've been silent for so long its starting to creep me out." Malfoy's words brought her out of her misery with a jolt.

"He…he fears the worst, doesn't he?" she whimpered.

"Well, you certainly scared the hell out of him. Maybe he thinks we are having a scorching affair. Maybe he thinks I am seducing you now…Granger, what the hell!" Draco shouted and jumped up from the couch as Hermione, who was absentmindedly taking a swig from her bottle, suddenly spluttered and coughed up her butterbeer all around, quite a few drops landing on him. She continued to cough, red faced at his offhand remark, while Draco studied his pullover morosely.

"Designer stuff…. original….new one…." Draco muttered under his breath as he studied his pullover dismally, and Hermione, catching a few words here and there and wanting something to do to take her mind off the dangerous direction his remark had just pointed out to her, took out her wand and pointing it at him, thought _Tergeo_. Immediately, the drops vanished as though they were never there.

Draco considered his now clean pullover for a moment, and then without any warning peeled it off, walking towards the stairs with it. Hermione had a momentary glimpse of his muscular chest and flat abdomen before he turned away, and then was treated to the sight of his perfectly sculpted back. Her face burned and she cried out in embarrassment. Draco turned his head to look at her, amused, then threw his discarded garment at her in sheer devilry. It hit her on her face, and she took in the heady scent and warmth of his body before tearing it away and standing up in a rage that was directed more at herself than at him.

"You…", she spluttered, "What is the meaning of this…this…" she cast around for something really dire to throw at him, and he laughed at her discomfiture.

"Grow up, Granger. In any case, you would've seen a lot more of me had you really got me..._interested_." He smiled wickedly at her, and laughed again as a deeper shade of red crept up her already pink cheeks.

"I don't want to see anything of you", she screamed at him, brandishing his shirt at him as she waved her arms around.

"Relax, darling", he drawled out. "Enjoy the fact that right now, you are the luckiest girl in Hogwarts, because you have in your possession a freshly discarded garment of Draco Malfoy. There are many who would kill for it."

Hermione had forgotten that she was still holding his shirt, and she dropped it as though burned. "I am not one of those, Malfoy, and don't ever try this…this…stuff with me." She grounded out, now pointing her wand at him.

Draco studied her wand thoughtfully, blissfully unconcerned that the sight of his naked torso was disturbing her. "Granger", he said softly, a small smile playing on his lips, "I am merely returning a favor." Then he looked straight into her startled eyes, and as his meaning sank in, Hermione trembled from head to foot at the memory of what he had seen that morning.

Satisfied that he had stumped her completely, he turned towards the stairs once more, calling out over his shoulder, "And thank Merlin you are not one of those girls, Granger, because I am not interested in you in that way." And then he disappeared.

Hermione sat down suddenly, staring at the spot where he had stood taunting her just moments ago, her mind numb with shock.

Why, she asked herself, should she be hurt, or even disappointed, that he wasn't interested in her? They all knew that Malfoy was all hormones, the way he had behaved last year, he and Zabini chasing down everything with a pretty face above a skirt. It hadn't mattered then that she wasn't one of those; she had been scathingly critical about their shenanigans anyway. They probably hadn't considered her a girl at all, she mused. But now, when even Zabini had climbed down from his high horse to notice that she was a desirable girl, muggleborn that she was, why wasn't Malfoy interested in her at all?

She should be thankful, she supposed, that he was impervious given what had happened in potions today, but it wasn't very flattering to her female vanity.

She was still lost in similar thoughts when he came back, wearing a jersey so similar to the one he had thrown at her, that she actually looked down to check it wasn't the same.

"How many of those do you own? Or is it the same one that you have replicated?" she asked, momentarily thrown off.

Draco looked highly affronted.

"This one here is French…that was Italian. Completely different designers…not to mention completely different design." He spoke disdainfully.

"Different?" Hermione asked, eyebrows disappearing in hair, "They are the same color, same pattern…"

"Ah, but you are mistaken. That one was woven with a diamond pattern, this one is knitted with a ribbed design. And that one was forest green while this one leans more towards olive, though not quite. For a very clever girl, you can be decidedly blinkered." Draco smiled smugly at her, sitting down beside her again.

Hermione rolled her eyes, and he shook his head.

A small silence followed, and Hermione was again reminded of his rather categorical statement. She frowned slightly, picking up her thoughts where she had left off. Draco watched her chewing her lip in concentration.

"What's wrong now?" he asked her, slightly irritated at her habit of thinking over everything so deeply, opening cans of worms where none existed.

Hermione came to a sudden decision; she wanted to ask him, she wanted to know everything. She wanted all embarrassing stuff out of the way before she ever laid eyes on him again. She knew he would answer her without being shocked, experienced as he was. As for laughing at her, he was always doing that. But she really wanted to find out the truth, or she would keep simmering.

"Malfoy, why are you not interested in me at all? Is it because I am a muggleborn? Or I am not your type, or what?" she herself was shocked at her audacity.

Draco stared at her in amazement and disbelief. He hadn't expected her to be so direct.

"Why Granger, would you like me to be interested in you?" he hedged for time, mocking her.

"I am serious, Malfoy, and I want a serious answer." Hermione didn't even blush this time, her expression so stern it reminded him of McGonagall, and for a brief moment he had a vision of McGonagall, eyes spitting fire, wanting to know from him why he wasn't interested in her! Draco swallowed his laughter with difficulty.

"Two reasons, Granger. One I have already told you; you are an innocent, a canary, and I am the falcon. While falcons do hunt canaries, I prefer to play with other birds of prey rather than launching a hunt of hapless birds. To get rid of the metaphor, I play with girls who know the rules of the game. That way, we all have a good time and at the end of it, nobody gets hurt. No tears, no guilt, no emotional baggage. And, most importantly, no cursed letters or hexes directed at my back." Draco spoke clearly, and it was true anyway. He didn't want hyperemotional girls clinging to his neck, crying bitterly about their broken hearts. It had happened before, when he was a novice at this game, but not now; it was too harrowing.

Hermione considered him with sharp eyes, weighing his words, testing their veracity.

"And the other reason?" she prompted.

"The other one, well, it's a bit difficult to explain. You and I are going to be living together for a year, and I just don't think it judicious or prudent to mess around with each other. I mean, there are so many things that can go wrong. We might end up hating each other after that, and then living together will become unbearable. Or we might end up liking each other, and then breaking up at the end of the year will be traumatic. Or Potter and Weasley might decide to put their point across, and then we'd all be spending the year making regular visits to the Hospital Wing. Or things might get so ugly we might be stripped of our positions, and I don't want to lose my position just because of raging hormones. So on the whole, I thought it best to maintain a purely platonic relationship with the Head Girl."

Hermione stared into the fire, which seemed to be losing its intensity. His words were oddly comforting, practical as they were. Spoken quietly, they soothed her vanity, and appealed to her logic. He was right; if he had decided to play with her, she would have ended up with a broken heart, he with broken bones, and they both would have been kicked out of office for indiscipline and bringing disgrace to the positions, and her relationship with Harry and Ron would have suffered. And the entire school would have laughed at them.

Hermione rounded on him; he was brilliant. He was nice, considerate, _and_ brilliant. Ok, so he laughed at her, but so did Harry and Ron. And although he had been labeled as Mr. Hormones in the Gryffindor common room, he had shown a remarkable restraint and foresight in playing indifferent to her foolish games. Hermione felt relieved, and so lightheaded she wanted to do something crazy. Instead, she looked directly into his eyes, and spoke what was in her heart.

"Malfoy, for the last time, I am really sorry for whatever I did. It was…very bad of me. And thank you for forgiving me, and thank you for…for being so considerate, and even though you don't like hearing it, for being so nice. You are right…about everything you just said." Draco raised his eyebrows at that, but she went on breathlessly. "I just wanted to ask you one thing…could we be friends?"

Draco and Hermione stared at each other for a long time, each weighing the other up. Hermione's eyes were hopeful, Draco's were calculating. Finally, he broke the silence.

"Your friends would never understand, or forgive you for this."

"They don't know you, as I do now. When they get to know you a little, I'm sure they would feel differently…" but she trailed off, not entirely convinced herself.

Draco snorted. "Sure. I can just see myself lounging around with the Golden trio, and Weaselette and Raisingh too. That would be very chummy."

"Oh, ok…so lets not tell them for a while. Let them come to the same conclusion as I have by themselves." Hermione retorted mulishly.

"Which is?" Draco prompted, amused at seeing her reverting to her old self.

"That you are not so bad. You can be actually nice if you want to be." She replied smartly.

Draco laughed at that. "Just listen to you. I am not bad? Granger, my badness is already rubbing off on you…you are about to keep secrets from your friends of six years, and quite relishing the prospect, by the looks of it."

Hermione smiled secretively at that, but she knew she was right in trusting Draco. Beneath all his snarky exterior lay an honourable, thoughtful guy, one he didn't give the rest of the world an opportunity to see.

"Friends imbibe each others' qualities, don't they? So maybe you will also imbibe some of mine." She smiled impishly up at him, but he looked positively alarmed.

"Merlin forbid, I don't want to find myself poring over tomes the way you do, ever. Or bobbing up and down in my seat everytime a teacher asked a question. Or spitting fire at the drop of a hat. Or going dewy-eyed at Weasley…"

"I don't get dewy-eyed at him." Hermione retorted snappishly.

"You do." He jeered.

"Draco…"she began warningly, but he cut her off.

"Oh, so I am Draco now?"

"Well", she hedged; thrown off once again, "if we are going to be friends…" she trailed off again as she realized he hadn't said yes.

Draco considered her, his head to one side, finally deciding to rescue her from her own doubts.

"We are going to be friends, Granger, but I hope you will excuse me if I don't jump to first name basis overnight. You are welcome to call me Draco, though. Only," he reminded her, momentarily arresting her growing smile, "Don't call me that in front of your fire-spitting troupe."

"They don't spit fire without any reason. You have done a lot over the years to keep Harry and Ron permanently mad at you, and I haven't seen you going out of your way to be courteous to Ginny either. With Sia, well, I don't know, but you two seem slightly less than fond of each other, for some reason, and I am sure the reason is not entirely Sia's fault." Hermione told him, nose in air.

"Of course it isn't. Do you think I would let a girl get the better of me? In any case, I have never liked the girl-on-top position." He told her dryly.

"Chauvinist, aren't you?" Hermione asked with a faint blush.

"Narcissa Malfoy's son a chauvinist? Not likely. When you have a mother like mine, you just cant help but grow up to respect women." He told her seriously, and Hermione's eyes widened in disbelief.

"You, respect women? If that were true you wouldn't have been treating the girls of Hogwarts like groveling subjects of your personal fiefdom." She told him scornfully.

"Ah, but you are again missing the most elementary point. I have grown up to respect women, true, but only women who are worthy of being respected. My mother is such a lady-dignified, haughty, beautiful and pureblooded. Lethal combination. Do you really think I would have respect for girls who are simply waiting to jump into my bed given half a chance? Many of them don't even require a bed, so long as I…"

"Ok, ok, I see your point." Hermione told him hastily, coloring up again. It was almost impossible to hold a decent conversation with him.

Draco smirked at her, enjoying the sight of color seeping up her face again.

"So", Hermione tried to sound matter-of-fact, trying to gloss over the uncomfortable moment, "Is there any girl in our school at all who is worthy of your respect?"

Draco smiled knowingly, but decided to play along with her rather than add to her discomfiture. "Actually there is. One girl who I can never see in that light, whom I will always consider sacred."

Hermione raised her eyebrows, her thoughts flitting from Ginny to herself to…

"Luna Lovegood." Draco pronounced clearly.

"What?" Hermione was taken aback. She didn't even know Draco knew of her existence. "Why?" she asked wonderingly.

Draco released a long sigh, his face falling dramatically as he reminisced. "Once I got a detention from McGonagall, and I was unfortunate enough to be serving it with her. Seems she had tried to tell McGonagall that Switching Spells were useless since magical creatures like Gluttonous Bonbons were capable of turning the spells upon the wizard who cast them." Hermione sniggered, and he continued morosely.

"Yeah, McGonagall had given both of us lines, and then to my most unfortunate bad luck, she had to go out for something, and for twenty minutes Miss Bonbon tried to shove the evidence of the existence of Crumple-horned Snorkacks down my throat. Since that time, I have been so scared of detentions that I have started paying close attention in classes. Anything to avoid coming within hearing distance of her."

Hermione was laughing so hard tears had started pouring down her cheeks again. Draco considered her for a moment, before adding, "Not that it did much good to me today."

Hermione's laughter ceased suddenly at that. As the moment threatened to become uncomfortable again, Draco smiled at her.

"You are certainly imbibing my badness with a vengeance Granger. When was the last time you laughed at somebody?"

Hermione reflected on that; she certainly never laughed at people. Even when she wasn't very fond of Luna, she had never laughed at her. Maybe being friends with Malfoy was rubbing off on her…

Draco laughed aloud as he almost saw the cogs in her brain turning over that. She took everything so seriously it was downright hilarious. Then he stood up and stretched himself, and Hermione's eyes followed the graceful movements of his long limbs unintentionally.

"Anyways, I have to make a move now." At the question in her eyes, he reminded her lightly, "I have a detention to serve, thanks to the machinations of three lovely ladies-you, Pansy and…" He stopped suddenly. He had no intention of mentioning Sia's name to Hermione, or to anyone else; he would deal with her in his own way, and that revenge would be really sweet, he would see to that.

"And?"

He started, having forgotten she was there for a moment. She was looking at him questioningly and Draco knew better than to leave her curiosity unsatisfied.

"Misfortune", he told her glibly, and she hung her head.

"Don't worry about it. Snape's too fond of me to boil me in his cauldron. And Pansy will be there to drive him to up the wall, so with any luck, he will cancel our punishment altogether. See you, Granger." He told her blithely before walking to the portrait hole.

Hermione looked up to see him walk out, and murmured, "You really are nice, Draco."

"I heard that." He called back from outside, before banging the portrait shut.

Hermione smiled, "Goodnight, Draco."

**A/N: Yay, they are friends! Well, at least Hermione is! Draco has his own agenda, but who knows what'll happen in the future! I do, of course, but thats beside the point. Anyways, seeing that I typed out all those words, please type a few to review. Trust me, it doesn't hurt.**


	13. Higher Plan vs Baser Instinct

"But Headmaster, if you will just…"

"What is done is done, Severus. If you decide to change the captain now, the morale of the whole team will be affected, not to mention you will lose the services of your best Chaser. And in any case, my insistence that you do not make Mr. Malfoy the captain has very little to do with quidditch, as you well know." Albus Dumbledore peered at Snape over the rim of his half-moon spectacles as he shuffled his papers on the desk.

"That's what you say. Pardon me, Headmaster, but sometimes I cannot help but think that this is another strategy to help Potter lift the cup this year too." Snape gritted through clenched teeth.

"Harry doesn't need anyone's help to lift the cup, Severus; after all, he has been doing it admirably by himself. And I do not like your presumption that I will ever favour one student or House over another." Dumbledore seemed to radiate heat for a few moments, and Snape appeared to back down, albeit reluctantly.

"And just to remind you, my decision to make Mr. Malfoy the Head Boy over Harry and not the quidditch captain of the Slytherin team has more to do with your prodigy than Harry. Have you forgotten those reasons, Severus?"

Snape remained silent, but it was a very malevolent silence. Dumbledore sighed, pushed aside his papers and fixed his tired old eyes on the man before him.

"You care for the boy, do you not Severus?" he fixed Snape with a penetrating stare.

"He is an intelligent boy, Headmaster, and a worthy Slytherin. He has all the qualities a head boy should have." Snape replied dispassionately.

"Ah, yes…but I inquired about your liking for the boy on a personal level."

Again, Snape remained silent.

"I will take it as an affirmation. When you care for the boy, Severus, then my reasons should not be so difficult to understand for you." Dumbledore continued in a kinder voice. "You are aware where the boy stands presently, Severus? His father is a deatheater, and not just any deatheater; Lucius Malfoy belongs to Voldemort's inner circle. Currently he is in Azkaban, true, but Draco is at a very crucial point of his life. He has come of age, and he will be expected to join the deatheaters once he steps outside these walls. You tell me Lucius has never pushed the boy towards Voldemort, but as a young boy, he has most probably grown up dreaming about joining up. Do not mistake me, Severus, I do not blame the boy as it was inevitable." Dumbledore clarified as Snape made to protest.

"But I am equally certain that given that as he is now, for the time being, removed from the influence of deatheaters, he may be slightly confused. You have informed me that he is not evil yet, and I believe you. I also believe he is in two minds, and a prod in the right direction is what he needs the most right now, more than even the quidditch cup. He has already seen one side, now its only fair to introduce him to the other side…our side. He should see for himself, and decide for himself. But it is our duty to help him make the right decision so that his innocence is preserved. One life saved from the clutches of Voldemort, Severus, and with his talents, he will make a very fine member of the Order."

"So in other words, you are trying to shield him from the Dark Lord so that you can use him for the Order. Is that the higher plan, Headmaster? But why single him out for this honour? There are many others who could benefit from this thoughtfulness" Snape sneered.

"I am trying to make him a better man, Severus, and if that means he can also help us in the bargain, then so be it." Dumbledore replied briskly, with a hardness on his face that none except Snape had ever seen. "And as for singling him out, he is the most vulnerable, being Lucius Malfoy's son. I doubt very much that Mr. Crabbe or Mr. Goyle are held in the same regard as Mr. Malfoy by Tom Riddle."

"Theodore Nott..." Snape began testily, but Dumbledore cut him off by speaking over him.

"...is a clever boy who can look after himself. And I doubt whether he could be swayed in his thinking easily should he make a decision. Moreover, he still has a year left at Hogwarts. Maybe he can be our next Headboy..." the old eyes twinkled at Snape who failed to look impressed.

"But why should all this come in between Draco being the captain…?" Snape began irritably only to be cut off by Dumbledore.

"It will go a long way in building his character, Severus. He has always got his own way; this will teach him to bow to the will of others and work as a team player. And I have full faith in him, and you, and I know that the Slytherin team will not suffer much." Dumbledore added a bit impishly. Snape bristled with annoyance.

"I notice, Severus, that you did not complain when I made him the head boy in place of Harry. Surely you know that Harry has all the qualities that the Head Boy of Hogwarts requires?"

"With due apologies, Headmaster, but Potter is a little too hotheaded to really be suitable." Snape smirked.

"And what do you have to say for Mr. Malfoy's past record of bullying, unpleasant behavior, and general troublemaking? Surely such a record speaks against him?" Dumbledore inquired mildly.

"Yet you chose him, so that means that he definitely scores over your obvious choice where it matters the most." Snape was still smirking.

"He does, Severus. He scores because of what he lacks, not because of what he has." Snape's eyes narrowed at that, and Dumbledore smiled at him, elucidating his point, "I made Mr. Malfoy the Head Boy so that he is taken away from the pureblood elitisms of the Slytherin common room, and he can be near Miss Granger, so that he sees the other side. Miss Granger is a very rational, helpful and enlightened individual, and, I might add, a lot less hotheaded and more patient and forgiving than Harry or Mr. Weasley. She will be his guide to the other side and hopefully, with her help, Mr. Malfoy will become a better person and choose right over wrong."

Snape looked highly disbelieving of that, as though he found the idea of Miss Granger being able to help Draco become a better person ridiculous.

"I very much doubt that Draco will let her come anywhere near him. And anyway, Draco is already a very fine person, Headmaster…its just that he doesn't let everyone see it." He said softly.

"You just might be the only person in Hogwarts who thinks that, Severus, but still, its all the more reason that we make every effort to preserve and fine tune his exalted qualities. He needs Miss Granger's company, Severus, and making him Head Boy when she was a natural choice for Head Girl seemed a reasonable solution. Of course, his being smart, intelligent and a natural leader helped. All that he needs is to shed some prejudices and learn to shoulder some responsibility. And once he gets to know the Gryffindors better, he is bound to be influenced. His cool temperament can be a perfect foil to Harry's hot head if they begin to work together."

Snape made a non-committal noise. Dumbledore returned to his papers before asking, "Fancy a sugar quill?" Snape huffed.

* * *

Draco was reclining lazily on a plush armchair in front of the blazing fire in the Slytherin common room. Pansy was perched by his side, her arms round his neck, one hand playing with his hair. Every now and then, she would plant a soft kiss on his forehead, temple, or cheek, anywhere he would let her. Whenever he accepted her caresses, she would shoot triumphant glances towards a group of girls huddled in another corner eyeing Draco hopefully.

To say that he was happy would have to be an understatement. Behind the smooth mask of his face, he was ecstatic with joy. He was unable to believe his luck that he had managed to make friends with Granger, and the best part was the offer of friendship had come from her. A little forgiveness does go a long way, he smirked to himself. A whole week had elapsed since that little episode, and he couldn't have been more pleased with himself. True to her word, Granger was being a cold stranger to him in company, and a thoughtful, if slightly inquisitive and talkative, companion in private. Now Potter was only an arm's stretch away from him, either way. But admittedly, it was a very long arm.

Draco had come down to the Slytherin common room in celebration for the weekend. Of course, he couldn't confide his happiness or its cause to anyone, but it felt nice to be able to be himself for a while. The Mr. Nice Guy image he had been projecting for Granger's benefit was getting on his nerves. And anyway, it worked out nicely for both of them this way when he came here for weekends; they both got a break from each other and got a chance to mingle with their real friends, or in his case, his real counterparts.

Just as Pansy decided to get intimate and dove for his lips, he heard a familiar drawl behind him.

"Hey babes, its me…back in full colour! Did you miss me?" It was followed by an indistinct reply, probably because Blaise was kissing the girl.

Draco smirked to himself; it was payback time, and shoving Pansy aside, got up.

"Blaise!" he called out in his warmest tones, "So good to see you back. What did Granger do to you, by the way?"

Zabini was snapped out of his kiss at that, and he considered Draco coldly.

"Nothing more than what Raisingh did to you, Draco", he sneered.

"Really? But I heard she didn't even let you touch her, and even slapped you for good measure? Now that could have gone better, don't you think? Refused by a mudblood!" Draco's voice was laced with derisive amusement. A few sniggers were heard from around them that were quickly muffled when Zabini glared at the room in general.

"We'll see what goes better in your birthday party, won't we Draco?" Zabini retorted spitefully.

"That, we will. And the thing I will enjoy the most will be the present _you_ give me, Blaise." Draco smirked.

"Don't get your hopes up so soon mate; the subject in question has wounded you once already, and I am keeping my fingers crossed for an encore." Zabini smiled nastily before turning his attentions towards the girl wrapped around his left arm once more.

Draco turned away and his gaze collided with the questions in Pansy's eyes. Having no stomach to face them, he stalked off.

He would have to do something about Raisingh now, he mused as he walked towards his dormitory, the castle corridors empty at such a late hour in the evening. He simply could not allow himself to lose this bet; he had never lost a bet to Blaise, for one thing, and he was looking forward to seeing him honour his side of the bargain, he smirked. And then, he could not lose face in front of Potter and his cronies. Most of all, he was simply looking forward to finding out if Raisingh delivered as good as she looked.

Thinking about her and his plans for her, Draco smiled to himself and started twirling his wand in his hands. He gave the password and stepped inside his common room, but at the same time, fumbled his grip on his wand, and it fell down softly on the carpet. Draco bent to pick it up, and heard an unfamiliar female voice call out, "Its not here!"

Surprised, he looked up before straightening, and found his eyes leveled at a pair of pink breasts, nearly entirely visible as their owner was down on all fours, peering beneath an armchair.

The first thing he noticed was that the girl wasn't Granger, and thanked his lucky stars. The next was that the girl was wearing a transparent lavender chemise, and the next that she wasn't the only one sporting such dishabille.

He slowly straightened up, and looked around, his mouth open. The next sight to leap out at him was that of a pink butt, only partially covered by baby blue knickers as their owner was also looking underneath another armchair on all fours with her back to him. Slightly dazed, he closed his eyes for a few seconds and opened them again; half convinced that he was dreaming. But now he saw more girls, all in a variety of nightwear that had only one thing in common: they revealed more than they covered.

As his eyes shifted from the bodies to the faces, he noticed in a daze that he recognized all of them. The girl in lavender was Lavender Brown of Gryffindor, the one in baby blue knickers and matching top with spaghetti straps was Hannah Abbott of Hufflepuff. His eyes swept the room and he found Parvati Patil of Gryffindor clad in a transparent lilac sheath with thin satin straps, and just behind her, her twin in a similar outfit in peach. To his surprise, he found the curly haired girl whom Blaise had been kissing in a baby pink nightgown, also looking for something. As he stared at her, she swept up her hair into a loose bun and kept looking, and suddenly he found out why he hadn't been able to spot her last year. She was Emilie Bennett, a sixth year Ravenclaw prefect, who normally had a thin, pale face with straight, lank hair that hung about her face desolately, looking like they had ash in them. She had colored her hair and curled them, and that had given her a whole new look. Damn these girls, he thought a bit irritably. But then his irritation vaporized as his eyes fell on the girl who had just straightened up from looking under the bookshelf. Wearing a simple dark green slip with frilly straps, its scooped neckline showing her young figure to perfection, she was a sight for sore eyes. Draco doubted even Potter had ever seen her wearing so little, and the thought cheered him up considerably as he watched Ginny.

Surprisingly, none of them had noticed him yet; they were all busy looking for something, checking under every piece of furniture in the common room. Draco looked around, his gaze coming to rest on a slender girl dressed in a translucent black nightgown with thin noodle straps emerging from the small kitchenette off the common room, her arms laden with an enormous tray holding all sorts of savories. She was the one to notice him, and her eyes and mouth rounded in an identical 'O' of speechless shock as she stopped dead in her path. Draco eyed her reproachfully; never had he imagined Granger to be holding underwear parties, but then he thought there was a lot he still didn't know about her. Her appearance returned him his power of speech, though.

"Well well, what do we have here?" he drawled out, and waited for effect. He wasn't disappointed; the girls shrieked and ran for cover, Hannah Abbott tripping over a small stool in her haste. The girls ran around like headless chicken, some grabbing cushions off chairs and some actually hiding behind furniture. If it hadn't been so important to appear cool and unruffled, Draco would have collapsed into fits of laughter.

Finally, only Hermione was left in the open, unable to do anything with her arms laden with food, and too shocked to put it down anywhere. Her eyes drifted towards something black dangling from the back of the couch, and Draco, seeing it, levitated her tray off from her and she gratefully went to retrieve her discarded robe. Once she had put it on, however, Draco dumped the tray back down in her arms none too gently and she caught its weight, fumbling a little. He had a bone to pick with her now, and wasn't going to let her get away with this.

Ginny was quicker than him, however.

"What are you doing here?" she asked accusingly, and would have looked intimidating in her anger if she hadn't been hiding behind a cushion.

"A question I might ask all of you, considering I live here." Draco told her, walking casually towards the couch, his favorite place in the room. "You know", he continued conversationally, "I've had this fantasy since a long time to be in a room full of girls. But in my fantasy, the girls wore nothing at all, and none of them were Gryffindors."

All the girls in the room blushed at that, and he smirked, leaning against the back of the couch, considering them. Finally his eyes came to rest on one.

"Want to tell me now whats going on, Granger?" he asked quietly.

"We are having a sleepover, that's all." She replied a bit defensively.

"Oh, _is that all_? And considering that I also happen to live here, didn't you think it necessary to inform me of your plans beforehand?" he inquired.

"You always spend your weekends in the Slytherin common room, so I thought…"

"So you assumed I would be doing it this time too, did you?" He asked her coolly, and Hermione flushed. Before she could say anything, however, he continued.

"How would you like it Granger, if I decide to return this favour to you? One day you come back here expecting to find nothing more than your comfortable bed and a good night's sleep, and come across a party thrown by _me_ for _my_ friends. And let me warn you, the only thing common between your parties and mine are scantily clad girls, and even that changes after a couple of drinks."

Hermione blushed to the roots of her hair. She had no answer for him, so she just hung her head.

"Stop bothering her. Its not her fault you suddenly decided to break habit and saunter in on a weekend night." Ginny jumped in to Hermione's rescue, throwing away her cushion in her agitation without realizing it. "And why have you come, did the other Slytherins throw you out, or did you get a wind of our sleepover and decided to peep in?" she accused him.

Draco raked her figure with his eyes insolently, causing her color to rise, but she refused to dive for the cushion this time. He looked away disdainfully, returning his gaze to Hermione. "Why is that" he asked the room at large, "that you Gryffindors have so little faith in each other's abilities to fight your own battles? Try to talk with one, and the other one jumps in to the rescue without invitation!"

"Its called friendship, Malfoy, but obviously you don't know anything about it." Ginny retorted.

"Too true I don't." Draco smirked and Hermione colored. "But then I don't need anyone to come to my rescue either. Anyways, Granger, what do you have to say to all this?"

Hermione took a deep breath, fully realizing that the devil that he was, he had knowingly put her in a spot, perhaps to see if she was serious about being his friend. She would show him.

"Malfoy", she began composedly, "I am truly sorry for this mix up, and I realize its my fault as I had not informed you of my plans earlier. And I also apologize on behalf of my friend casting aspersions on your character. I do not believe you to be a peeping tom, whatever else you are. So now please, if you could be so considerate as to leave us?" Hermione was politeness and cool indifference personified, and Draco mentally applauded her.

"Thank you for your apology, Granger. And I am just leaving." Draco nodded at her and turned towards the stairs, but Ginny's angry voice stopped him.

"What the heck is all this? Hermione, you are apologizing to this ferret? And he is thanking you? What is happening around here? What is going on between you two?" she cried suspiciously.

Draco turned to her; now it was his turn to do his bit.

"Even though neither of us pins our badge on our night dress, as I think one of your brothers did…what was his name?…but nothing detracts from the fact that we are the Heads, and as such, committed to be civil to each other for the sake of the student body. Does that answer your question, Miss Weasley?" he mocked Ginny.

"Don't you dare talk about my family, ferret; two of my brothers were Head Boys, one was a Quidditch captain, and one is a Prefect, as I am. You can't boast of such a…" but she was cut off by Draco in mid stream.

"Oh right, how could I match it! My father was a prefect in his day, and now I am only a Head Boy. Gosh, how I wish there had been more of us, but to overcrowd the Manor as you and your siblings overcrowd your …er…house, there should really have been an army of us. How inconsiderate of my parents to just stop at one, when they could clearly have gone on and on as yours did, outnumbering many families put together." Draco's voice dripped with sarcasm.

Ginny went scarlet and started clenching and unclenching her hands, clearly wishing for her wand, which was lying upstairs in Hermione's bedroom.

"Why, you foul, twisted piece of Slytherin rubbish…." She started furiously.

"Five points from Gryffindor for your impertinence, Weasley. Now do you really want to complete that sentence?" he sneered.

Ginny looked ready to pounce on him, but Hermione stepped in between them.

"That's enough, both of you. Malfoy, you apologize to Ginny this instant…" she began darkly, only to be cut off by him.

"Get real, Granger. And she started it, in case you didn't notice. The only reason I have not hexed her little butt to Mars is that she is here as your guest, otherwise believe me, I would take the greatest pleasure in kicking her out of here." He spat at her.

"Why you…kick me out indeed! And since when did you learn so much so as to hex me? I seem to remember something about a ferret and flying bogies." Ginny mocked him cruelly.

"That was then, Weasley…this is now. And one more impolite word directed at me out of your mouth, and you will find yourself in double detentions with Filch _and _Snape." Draco's eyes had gone silver again.

"Ha ha…now _that _frightens me." Ginny jeered him.

"Ginny, Malfoy…this has gone far enough. One more word out of any of you, and I will take twenty points from your house….yes Ginny, believe me I will." Hermione's temper was beginning to rise now.

Ginny huffed and looked away, and Draco released a long breath and looked around. All the other girls seemed to have been frightened into silence, and they were staring at the three of them apprehensively, probably wondering whether they should be trooping back to their own dormitories.

Draco shook himself mentally…when was the last time he had lost his temper? He couldn't remember, and he certainly didn't relish showing this weakness. But there was something about these bunch of blood traitors that seemed to rub him the wrong way. The worst was their assumption that they were in any way his equals. He could laugh when Weasel trumpeted such notions, but his sister was something else. She wasn't a fool like him, and her association with Potter made her think that she was practically royalty! Shit, Draco suddenly froze out of his anger, he had been arguing with Potter's girlfriend, for Merlin's sake! Talk about being sickle-wise and galleon-foolish! He had made friends with Granger and angered Weaselette! Damn, it was all because of these stupid Gryffindors! But who wielded more influence on Potter, Granger or his girlfriend, Draco wondered. It would definitely have to be the former, as she was the brains in their group! But it wouldn't help his cause to antagonize the Weaselette either.

He decided to just leave, but then he remembered their search, and his curiosity was aroused. What were they looking for anyway? He knew he had to ask.

"By the way", he began, and was pleased to notice that his voice was back to normal, "which one of you has lost her marbles?" he directed the question at Hermione, and was rewarded with a confused look. "You were all looking for them when I came." Draco reminded her with a small smirk, and Hermione suddenly relaxed…he was back to normal, and Ginny would cool down pretty quickly, she knew her.

"We were looking for Sia's ring." Hermione told him.

Draco raised his eyebrows at that. "And what would Raisingh's ring be doing here in her absence?" he asked her, and now he thought about it, he found her absence at this do most puzzling.

"Absence? She is very much here." Hermione replied, gesturing to the couch, and for the first time since he set foot there that evening, Draco looked down at his favorite place, and found it occupied by a girl wearing full-length, full sleeved cream-colored robes in silk, with tiny embroidery in pale hues of pink, green and blue, lying on her stomach, her face obscured by dark, wavy hair, one arm dangling from the couch. Only her hand resting on the carpet was visible, and yet there was no mistaking the tall, slim girl-Draco's nemesis.

Draco was surprised that she hadn't joined in the fray when he and Ginny were sparring and was content to lie comfortably in front of the fire. _On his couch_! He was more astounded by the fact that she was the only girl in the room who was fully clothed in non-transparent robes. How bizarre was that!

Draco approached her cautiously; there was no telling what she might do, after all, but she didn't stir. "Whats wrong with her?" he finally asked Hermione, but it was Parvati who answered.

"She has lost her ring, poor thing, her family heirloom! She will be eighteen soon, and her father had sent it over to her so that it may be altered to fit her when the occasion came for her to wear it. She was just showing it to us, but now its lost!" she sounded more distressed than Raisingh could've been, Draco thought.

"And her father is a very strict man, she told us; she is distraught with worry and grief. Inconsolable. She's crying her eyes out, poor girl." Lavender added.

Draco looked at the girls incredulously; were they referring to the same girl he had come to hold in a bit of awe! _Raisingh was crying her eyes out_? Draco looked down at her prostrate form once again, and then at Hermione, who confirmed this story with a serious nod. How odd!

"Why didn't you just Summon it?" Draco asked in a puzzled tone.

"Because", this time it was Hermione, "it can't be Summoned. It's a muggle ring, but because of its value for the family, it has been charmed so that it can't be Summoned, Banished, Transfigured or stolen. It also repels Sensing charms. We have to find it the muggle way."

"Oh!" Draco offered. But he was finding it difficult to believe that Raisingh was crying her eyes out over it; she just didn't look the type who shed copious tears. Determined to find out, he bent slightly towards her and carefully brushed a strand of her hair away from her eyes with his wand. She didn't stir this time either, but it could've been because she was fast asleep. And there wasn't the trace of a single tear on her face.

Draco smirked to himself; just as he had thought, there was more to this story. And then the Seeker in him saw it-a glint of gold coming from the hand resting on the carpet. On the pretext of bending over the sleeping girl in concern, which in itself was a laugh, Draco bent down to her level fully and carefully pried the glittering object from numb fingers. Satisfied that no one had seen him, he pocketed it, whatever it was.

"Well, in that case", he said straightening up, "I will leave you girls to your fun. Night."

With that, he turned towards the stairs and had placed one foot on the bottom stair when a dreamy voice floated to him, "Watch out for the Staircrits!"

Draco's eyes widened, and he slowly turned around on the spot, hardly believing his ears. But there she was, climbing down from the cupboard that held old School trophies, wearing a silver nightgown that fastened under her neck and flowed down to her ankles. Draco stared at her, not being able to decide whether to be more surprised at her pronouncement or the fact that she was looking for a ring on top of a cupboard!

"They eat away at the staircase as you climb, and then you suddenly find a stair missing and get your foot stuck. There is a serious infestation at Hogwarts." Luna told him seriously, having jumped to her feet gracefully.

The look on Draco's face was priceless, and Hermione giggled. Even Ginny smiled. But then he turned away stonily and was gone.

* * *

Damn these girls, and damn Luna Lovegood, thought Draco viciously. First they descend on him in droves, with negligible clothes, then they fight with him, and then warn him about imaginary critters! Draco tore out of his clothes in anger and threw them with such force they traveled the length of his room and hit the windows opposite. He stomped to his wardrobe and got out his boxers to wear for the night, but then decided in favor of black silk pyjamas; who knew what Miss Bonbon might get up to! She might decide to come here looking for some blibbering creature that roams the forests of her imagination! Draco fervently hoped that no part of _him_ reminded her of crumple-horned snorkacks.

Girls were nothing but a necessary evil, he thought. Life would be so much better without them, but then it wouldn't really be life! He felt claustrophobic at the thought of the girls downstairs; feeling trespassed upon. Maybe it had something to do with growing up in the Manor as an only child, but it bothered him just the same. And he felt renewed irritation at Hermione for inviting all the irritating girls of Hogwarts without bothering to inform him. Weaselette, Patil and Brown, Lovegood, and even Bennett. He was irritated when he thought how much she had changed her look simply by changing her hair, and it bothered him to think he had lost her to Blaise now that she was looking good; it hurt his ego. Then he considered how he would look if he curled his hair, and then almost shouted with shock at the direction his thoughts were taking. _Stupid girls_, he raged.

He threw himself on his four-poster and was just about to hide beneath the covers when he suddenly remembered what he had taken from Sia. He leaped towards his discarded clothes and fumbled with them, finally locating it.

It was the ring. A huge, ornate ring, studded with many gems in the shape of a rising sun, and below it, two crossed swords. Must be some kind of family-crest, he though. It looked very old, and very valuable. Its thick gold band and the heavy design rendered it unfit to be worn by a girl, and Draco sniggered as he pictured Sia trying to lift her hand with the ring on it. He wondered how he had managed to get hold of it if it couldn't be stolen, but then reasoned that he had taken it just to tease Raisingh, so it probably didn't count. Just for a laugh, Draco put it on, and this time he really shouted.

The ring suddenly glowed an eerie green, and became hot and very tight, burning Draco's finger. He tried to get it off, but it wouldn't budge. Just as he blindly lunged for his wand, his eyes watering with pain, the ring suddenly returned to normal, and it slid off from his finger as he turned his hand upside down.

Stunned, Draco studied his finger; it was absolutely normal, as though it hadn't just been burned. A bit scared, Draco flung the ring on to his nightstand and blew out his bedside candle, sliding beneath the covers. He had seen many dark objects in his life, and was sure this was one of them.

_

* * *

_

He was in one of the gardens on the estate of Malfoy Manor, admiring the flowers and the architecture, and then he heard a giggling. As he turned the corner, he was confronted with a group of girls, bathing nude in the fountain, splashing water all around them. As he got nearer, one of them turned-it was Ginny Weasley. "How dare you?" she screamed, and her face suddenly transformed into Hermione Granger's. "It is charmed. It cannot be stolen." She told him. And then the scene changed, and he was standing in a run down, decrepit building with his parents. There were a lot of cloaked people around, and he shivered with apprehension. And then they were standing before someone, a tall, emaciated someone, with his back to them, and his mother tried to shield him with her cloak, and his father stepped in front of him so he couldn't see. But then a high, cold voice told them to kneel, and they did, and then he saw him, a snake-like face with red eyes and slits for nostrils, the ugly mouth contorted into a sinister grin, and then he raised his hand, and Draco saw on his finger a heavy gold ring, with the emblem of a rising sun and two crossed swords, and the ring suddenly glowed green, and the hand came towards him…he was going to brand him with it! No, he shouted, he didn't want to take the Mark! But the Dark Lord laughed, a high, cold laugh, and many people suddenly seized him and his parents, and the ring suddenly pressed on his left forearm, searing his flesh…he cried out in pain, but they all laughed. And then he saw…on his arm, a grotesque skull with a snake coming out of its mouth…he had been given the Dark Mark!

Draco woke up with a start, drenched in sweat. He looked around hurriedly, and found, to his relief, that he was in his bedroom at Hogwarts. Safe. But just to check, he got out his wand, lit it and ripped off his shirt and checked both his arms…they were unblemished. He looked at the ring where he had thrown it before going off to sleep…it was still there, innocent in its inertness.

He got up off the bed with a sigh and stared out of the window. The grounds outside looked peaceful, as they always were. He walked up to his nightstand and picked up his watch. A quarter to Four in the morning. He picked up the jug filled with water and drank from it, not bothering with a glass. Setting it back down, he wondered what to do. It had been a very unsettling dream, no doubt brought about by the gaggle of girls Granger had managed to collect for the weekend. But it had been quite a while since he had dreamt about his first meeting with the Dark Lord; that had been a scary adventure. It was in the summer before his fifth year; the Dark Lord had just come back and had wished to meet the families of his favourite minions. Crabbe and Goyle had been there too, as was Theo. They had not even dared to acknowledge each other, the atmosphere was so forbidding. Draco had always associated power with everything positive, like fame, wealth, influence, grace, beauty, intelligence...everything. Probably having grown up watching and idolizing his father had done that, but that night he had been brought face to face with the ugly side of power. Yes, he wanted power, but he was equally certain he would never sacrifice his good looks for that. But one just didn't say such things to the Dark Lord, of course. Or even thought them; his father had cautioned him beforehand that the Dark Lord was a very skilled Legilimens.

He did not fancy going back to sleep, and weighed his options. He could always go down to the common room and read a book on his couch, but then he remembered the girls again. All of a sudden, his stomach rumbled, and he wistfully thought about munching a ham and cheese sandwich by the fire on his couch, reading _Quidditch Through The Ages_.

He put on a black silk robe lying across the chair by his portrait door, and opened the portrait stealthily. There was no noise that he could detect, and he tiptoed out gingerly. As he climbed down the stairs to the common room, he found it mercifully deserted; the girls had gone to sleep in Granger's room, thank Merlin. The fire was still burning invitingly though, and Draco smiled to himself and walked forwards.

All was quiet, and he thought about conjuring a plate of sandwich, but realized he had forgotten his wand upstairs. Rather than go for it, he chose to rummage around in the kitchenette; maybe Granger had left something after feeding her pet monsters. Just as he reached the door and caught sight of the fruit bowl lying on the table, an apple suddenly zoomed from it towards him, and he ducked hurriedly, startled, as only his Seeker reflexes saved him from being hit. The apple disappeared into the room behind him. He turned around to face the common room, just in time to see a hand from the depths of the couch catch it. _How could he have forgotten_?

"Trouble sleeping?" she asked as he approached the couch. She was reclining arrogantly on it, as though she owned it, Draco thought sourly. When he was towering above her, however, she straightened up slowly to give him a seat, but it wasn't his own side, it was Hermione's.

Draco sat down beside her as she carelessly munched on her apple. "What about you? What are you doing here this time of the night?" he asked her instead of answering.

"Eating this apple", she gestured to him with it, and Draco found irritation bubbling within him. "You want one?" she asked, making an attempt at politeness.

"No, thank you, I was leaning towards a sandwich, personally. Ham and cheese, but I forgot my wand upstairs." He confessed tightly.

"No problem. Please allow me." And with that, Sia waved her wand and a plate appeared before him, revolving in mid air before he caught it.

"Thanks", he mumbled, and taking one, offered the plate to her.

"No thank you, I am a vegetarian." She told him, staring into the fire.

"Really?" Draco was amazed at that, and stared at her.

"Yes, really. I only eat boys" she told him with the merest hint of a smile, and Draco saw tongues of flame dancing merrily in her eyes. "And really enticing ones at that." She added for good measure, showing all her teeth as she turned to smile at him.

Draco smiled inspite of himself, and his gaze traveled to her mouth. He wanted to kiss her now, but knew he had to be really careful around her. One wrong move, and there was no telling her reaction.

"So what are you really doing here, apart from the obvious?" he asked her instead, throwing a look at her rapidly disappearing apple.

"Looking for my ring." She replied a bit shortly.

"Ah yes…Granger mentioned something about it. You appeared to be crying over it." He told her, checking to see her reaction.

"I wasn't crying over it, I was sleeping over it, and that was when it disappeared." There was no denying it, she was worried; Draco could tell from her voice eventhough her face remained impassive.

"Sleeping?" Draco asked, feigning surprise. "When everyone else was looking for your ring, you were sleeping over it! Do you mean you had it all along?"

"_Had_ is the operative word. But now its no longer here." Sia said moodily, staring into fire once again.

"Then what was the point of pretending it was lost?" that was what he really wanted to know.

"It was the only solution that occurred to me at that time to keep peace." She said enigmatically.

"I am sorry?" Draco was puzzled.

"Don't be. You haven't done anything….yet." she smiled devilishly.

Draco studied her; her hazel eyes were ablaze with mischief, and her skin with its golden-coppery hue glowed in firelight. Her teeth dazzled when she smiled, and even though every inch of her was decently covered, she looked ravishing. And to top it, she was flirting with him. Draco was mesmerized.

"Tell me, do you always flirt with guys when you find them alone at night?" he asked amusedly.

"Not always…only sometimes." Sia replied cheekily.

"I hope you are aware where this could lead?" he asked her hopefully.

"Its not leading anywhere; I have to find my ring, that's my first priority right now. This is just comic relief." She shrugged nonchalantly, and Draco was piqued.

Sure enough, she got up from the couch with a graceful movement, tossed her glossy hair around and threw the apple kernel up in the air, setting fire to it with her wand.

"Hey!" Draco called out in alarm as it dropped, but it was reduced to ashes before it touched the carpet.

And then she was on all fours, looking for the ring that was sitting on Draco's nightstand.

"I heard you totally flipped out when you saw our little gathering." Sia called out from somewhere behind the couch.

"That's putting it mildly. I wonder how you'd react if you experienced what I did. The first thing I saw upon entering the room was Brown's breasts, for Merlin's sake!"

"I see what you mean. I had reservations about this whole thing from the start when HG told me that you didn't know about this." Sia told him from somewhere far off. "Why else do you think I wasn't dressed, or undressed, to kill!" So that's one mystery solved, Draco thought. He got up and went to stand beside her as she levitated a chair and tried to peer under it, balancing the chair at the same time with her wand.

"It's a good thing you didn't know about this beforehand, actually; I was half expecting you to show up with your cronies in tow, you know, Gorilla Goyle and Crocky Crabbe and Sexy Eyes! Maybe you would have if you'd known!" Sia continued absentmindedly, peering beneath a small ornate table now.

"In that case, I must say Granger has more faith in my character than you do." Draco told her impassively eventhough her remark stung.

"She's a bit like Harry in that case, seeing the good in people, even when it doesn't exist. At least Harry doesn't see any good in you!"

"Ah, I was wondering when you would begin praising the _Chosen One_; its an annoying habit of most Gryffindors." Draco drawled.

Sia looked up at him, amused. "There is hardly any person alive who'd come in contact with Harry and not like him."

"I can name a few, and I assure you all of them are very much alive." Draco said dryly.

Sia actually laughed at that. She abandoned her search under the bookshelf as she looked up at him, her eyes dancing. "You don't know Harry. Trust me, if you ever need his help in a potentially life-threatening situation, he would help you."

"In that case, _Harry_ is such a _dear_!" Draco mocked. "But tell me, why did you fall asleep after telling everyone to search for your not-yet-lost ring?" Draco asked her as he took out a bottle of firewhisky hidden behind a fake book titled _In Defence of the_ _Purity of Blood: Why Muggleborns are Suspect._ He was sure Hermione would never read a book like that, and it served his purpose.

He took a swig from it, and as he lowered the bottle, saw Sia looking at him. He merely shrugged; he knew she wouldn't bother Hermione with it. "Hmm?" he prompted.

"That is part of the reason", she told him, gesturing to the bottle. Draco was taken aback; how did she know about this when even Granger didn't!

"Alcohol", Sia clarified at his shocked look. "For the first time in my life, I had Butterbeer, two bottles of it, actually, and then was so drowsy I could hardly have lasted for more than half an hour." Draco looked puzzled. "I don't drink at all." She added.

"Wait a minute, are you trying to tell me you do not drink at all? But butterbeer is kids stuff! Hardly any alcohol content!" he asked, half amused, half disbelieving.

"Enough for me." She told him briskly.

"You certainly are full of surprises, Raisingh. Very strange girl!" he laughed.

"You can say that again." She told him disinterestedly, continuing with her search.

"Ok, so that was part of the reason. The other part?" he asked, recovering.

"Ah yes, the other part." Sia sighed, standing up and bending backwards slightly to straighten her shoulders and back. Draco's eyes followed her movements; why was everything about her so graceful, and yet so…unrehearsed, untamed! His mind snapped back to attention as Sia continued.

"Who wouldn't want to go to sleep if your idea of activity at a sleepover is being read articles out of _Transfiguration Today_, _Partner to Perfect Potions_ and _Charming_ _Charms_?" she asked a bit grumpily, and Draco laughed.

"Granger has some very strange ideas about entertainment", he conceded.

"I guess I should've expected that, once I came to know she kept _Hogwarts: A History_ for light-reading. But when she took out _Healing Herbs_, I was ready to scream. But seems everyone was feeling the same, because then Parvati and Lavender started a game of their own invention, in which you tell everyone three things about yourself, and three things you desire the most in a person of opposite sex. Then both of them mumble some spell and voila, the name of the person who is your _soul mate_ appears out of thin air!" she finished morosely, and Draco quirked his eyebrows amusedly.

"Why only opposite sex? Suppose you like someone from your own team?" Sia seemed to wave the question away with her hand, and Draco snickered.

"And…who got paired with whom, if one may ask?" he continued, still amused.

"Well, it seems Emilie's partner should be Nick Rafter, whoever he is…" she began.

Draco smiled impishly. "He's the sixth year Ravenclaw you kneed in Hag's Tales that day" he told her.

"Really! Which one?" she asked interestedly, and Draco laughed again, reflecting his instinct at that time had been right.

"Anyways, and guess who HG's perfect partner would be! Ernie McMillan!" she pronounced, rolling her eyes, and Draco snorted.

"Not that pompous prig!"

"Unnhuh! Have you ever seen him speak a single straight statement without sounding like a seasoned politician just about to inaugurate a function well-attended by the press?" Sia asked him, and he laughed again.

"I can just see Granger, spending the rest of her life writing his speeches!" he guffawed, and Sia laughed with him.

"Anyways, that really rattled HG. And then Hannah's soul mate turned out to be Neville. I have never seen anyone blush so prettily; maybe she has a crush on him!" Sia wondered, and Draco smirked.

"That, at least, seems logical. I have always thought Longbottom deserves to be in Hufflepuff. So a Hufflepuff for him, fair enough."

Sia eyed him coolly. "Logical, eh? I'll tell you something even more logical. Luna's ideal partner turned out to be none other than you, Draco Malfoy! So hows that?" she smiled wickedly.

"What?" Draco blanched. "That's preposterous!" he thundered.

"She didn't look too thrilled about it either." Sia drawled. "She seems to think you have a closed, unimaginative mind, and told us all how you refused to believe in the existence of Crumpet Caps even when she shoved the overwhelming evidence under your nose." She finished a bit reproachfully, as though Draco should've believed that nonsense.

"Its crumple-horned Snorkack." He told her automatically.

"But I doubt she would've gone out with you even if you had believed her…" she continued seriously, and Draco's eyebrows disappeared in his hair.

"_She_ would refuse to go out with _me_!" he asked incredulously.

"…because she informed all of us that you suffer from the _Liplockers Curse_." She finished in the same tone, as though Draco hadn't spoken.

"What!!!" Draco was flabbergasted. "And what, pray, is Liplockers Curse?" he ground out.

"A seriously contagious disease, it seems" Sia told him calmly. "Its symptoms include an overwhelming urge to clamp your lips down onto those of an unsuspecting victim, thereby transmitting and spreading the Curse" she said with a perfectly straight face as Draco's jaw dropped open. "Other symptoms include sleeplessness, inattentiveness in classes, a desire to haunt deserted corridors, frequent night time wanderings and so on. Its supposed to be very dangerous." She finished, looking at Draco thoughtfully, as though expecting him to start exhibiting the symptoms at any moment.

Draco stared at her for a few moments, his mouth open, taking it in, and then he dissolved into a fit of laughter. He had to hold onto the straight-backed chair to keep himself from falling. He couldn't remember when he had last laughed so hard. He looked up at her, wiping his eyes, and saw Sia looking at him still, but her eyes gave her away. They were full of a wild, devilish amusement in stark contrast to her composed face. Slowly, as he watched her, her mouth relaxed into a smile that was so full of mischief he wanted to feel it against his mouth.

"So, did you tell her that you suffer from the same Curse now, having once locked lips with a _cursed _guy?" he asked her, eyes dancing with devilment, mouth echoing her smile.

"No" she told him softly, seducing him with her dancing eyes. "Apparently, the Curse is not transmitted if the cursed person doesnot initiate the er… _contact_. It's a very complicated curse."

"I'll bet it is." Draco told her, his eyes locked with hers, their silvery-gray depths drowning her as he took a step towards her. "I'm already feeling an overwhelming urge to clamp my lips down on an unsuspecting victim."

"It doesn't apply to me, I already suspect you." Sia told him naughtily.

"Of what?" he asked, quite close to her now.

"Of every sin under the sun, and then some." She continued to smile impishly.

"Like having my friends over for a voyeuristic treat?" that had stung.

"Hmm…something like that." She answered a bit distractedly; he was mere inches away now, and Sia felt her senses stir.

"Is that what you would've done?" he asked her in a low voice, hardly knowing or caring what he was saying.

"That was something that I did do, in the past." She told him, her nerves tingling with his nearness, her mind slowly losing its capacity to think clearly.

"What?" Draco was momentarily thrown off, and his exclamation broke the web of sensations that had built up between them.

"Well, yes." Sia conceded and took a step back, looking away to clear her head. She felt strangely jittery and weak, and walked back to the couch on trembling legs, sinking down gratefully.

"When I was in my fifth year at Beauxbaton, the Head Boy was a real bastard", she told him, and Draco followed her to the couch, settling down beside her. "He would hand out punishments to girls for things like having a thick neck, fat lips, flat chest, or an ugly face. It was disgusting." She spoke with vehemence.

"Weird guy." Draco observed.

"Sick is the word you are looking for. I already loathed him, and then one day he gave me a detention for using my wand to pick up my books…"

"What? How is that a crime?" Draco was puzzled.

"Evidently it was. He and his cronies used to hide behind statues and split bags of unsuspecting girls who passed that way. The girls would bend down to pick up their stuff, and…" Sia made an ugly grimace.

"Oh…a pervert." Draco was disgusted. "How could he have been made a Head?"

"Beats me. So anyway, since that day, I was on the lookout for revenge. It wasn't easy, since he was the Head Boy. But then I came to know that he was throwing his birthday party in his dormitory, only close friends invited, and I knew it was the perfect chance. Knowing him, I knew the party would be dirty, so I recorded the entire proceedings to nail him." Sia's face split into a malicious grin.

"How?" Draco really wanted to know.

"Oh, I ordered a house-elf to hide there and watch the entire thing, without revealing himself to anybody, and then told him to give me his memory, forbidding him to tell anyone about it unless I said so. So I had the entire party in front of my eyes…and the next time my bag split, well…you can imagine. He had to resign and then he couldn't look me in the eye for the rest of his stay at school." Sia finished smugly.

"Well done!" Draco applauded her. "But I have two questions. One-why are you not in Slytherin, and two-why are you wearing the wrong colors? Shouldn't you be wearing black or green, connecting you to the devil or something poisonous inside you?" he asked amusedly.

"Is that why you are so fond of these colors? Because they connect you to the devil and the poisonous serpent inside you?" Sia raised her perfectly arched brows at him.

Draco laughed; it was almost impossible to win with her. Unless of course he used different weapons, he mused.

They sat in silence for a while, but the silence stretched between them, becoming heavier with every passing moment. Unwilling for it to become overwhelmingly uncomfortable, Draco asked the first thing that popped into his head.

"So who's your perfect soul mate?"

"Terry Boot" she replied, secretly glad to be talking again. "I must remember to smile at him the next time I see him." She told him.

"What? Why?" Draco was annoyed, though he hid it.

"Oh, he's a nice guy."

"So?"

"Tall…"

"So's Weasley!"

"…clever…"

"Nott's pretty clever!"

"…good looking…"

"Not more than Blaise!"

"…and a prefect!"

"I am _Head Boy_!" Draco nearly shouted out the last.

Sia considered him for a moment. "Aaah, yes…but none of the boys you mentioned have all the qualities, do they?"

"Which of these qualities do _I_ lack?" he asked her, seriously piqued now.

"You don't count…you belong to Luna, and you have that curse hanging upon you." Sia's lips twitched.

Draco glared at her, and she continued. "And as for being Head Boy, did you know that Terry was among the three boys short listed for the position?"

"But somehow I don't think he made it." Draco said sarcastically.

"And I think you made it only because you are the most troublesome of the lot." Sia smiled at him, as Draco's eyes narrowed. "I mean, look at it from Dumbledore's point of view. By making you Head Boy, he forces you to behave; so in one master stroke, he gets rid of the Headache of Hogwarts, as well as getting the job of Head Boy done. Brilliant!" she finished, her eyes twinkling at him.

Draco was so annoyed at that he refused to look at her, let alone speak, and amused, Sia got up again and started looking for her ring with renewed vigour.

She kept poking around here and there, Draco feigning to ignore her completely although his ears remained peeled to whatever she was doing or saying.

Sia kept puttering around, sometimes muttering things like, "Where could it have gone!" and "It can't fly now, can it!" or "It can't be stolen, so where is it!" Draco remained seated, pretending nonchalance even while being increasingly amused.

But that was until…

"That's the only thing left to do now…I should've done that the first time itself…" she muttered to herself. "That's it, I will burn the blasted carpet away so I'll be able to see it better…" she began decisively, irritated beyond measure at her failure, and Draco was horrified.

"Whoa! Hold your hippogriffs now", Draco leaped up from the couch and walked up to her, trying to tower over her menacingly. The only thing was, while it would've worked with most other girls, Sia was quite tall herself, and not easily intimidated, so she met his eyes squarely. "I would like to remind you that its _my_ room you are thinking of setting fire to, and I won't stand for such nonsense for the sake of a stupid ring…"

"Stupid ring!" she nearly yelled. "I'll tell you whats stupid…this bloody room is stupid that seems to have eaten my ring, you are stupid, and so is everyone who tries to speak rationally to you!" She thundered, eyes blazing in her anger at her own failure, and Draco mentally retreated a step or two. But he was in no way going to let her know that.

"Oh, just because you can't find an ugly old ring doesn't make the entire world stupid!"

"I don't care what you, or anyone else, thinks of it! But its very important to _me_. Apart from the fact that its an old family heirloom, traditionally passed on to the younger generation marking their coming of age, its extra special for me because I am going to be the first girl to wear it ever since it was made for the Raisingh family." Sia spoke so passionately Draco's irritation with her vaporized.

"Why the first girl?" Draco asked a bit composedly.

"Because", Sia let out a long sigh, and some of her anger, with it. "The ring has only ever been presented to the first male child of the family when he comes of age, no matter how many elder sisters he has." She said bitterly.

"But what if there was no son?" Draco wondered aloud.

"Oh, there was always a son…my ancestors made sure of that; even if that meant producing a horde of girls while trying for a boy or remarrying several times. It was only a couple of generations back that this male-child fixation was abandoned. My grandfather didn't have to care anyway, since he had two sons, my father being the elder. There was some talk initially, of handing over the ring to my uncle's son who'll come of age next year, seeing that my father has two daughters, but father was adamant that the ring goes to me." Sia smiled a bit smugly at that. "You see, what father wants, he gets; its impossible to cross him."

"Sounds like a Malfoy." Draco observed.

"Hardly." Sia smiled at him. "If he had been a wizard and had come to Hogwarts, he would have been the most famous Gryffindor after Godric himself."

"More famous than the _Chosen One_?"

"Why are you so envious of Harry?"

"I am not envious of a guy who's famous because of an ugly scar!"

"He's famous because of the reason he has that scar." Sia didn't miss a beat. "And anyway, Harry is much more than being the boy-who-lived. Just being around him makes you take a look at yourself and wonder if you're doing the right thing…"

"If this is the time to sing hymns in praise of the exalted _Harry_, then I must say goodnight, I'm afraid." Draco cut in.

"Nobody's stopping you." Sia coolly pointed out.

Draco was about to walk off, when he remembered something and turned back to her.

"What now?" Sia asked him waspishly.

"This is _my_ dormitory, _my_ common room; and if anyone will be going from here, it'll be _you_." He told her.

"Ah, but you forget that I am a guest of the Head Girl, and this dormitory and common room also belongs to her." Sia smirked at him. "Moreover,_ I_ have the wand, _you_ have forgotten yours upstairs."

Draco smiled nastily at her. Folding his hands across his chest, he perused her coldly. "So you're going to hex me, Raisingh? Lets see you do that…it should be easy, seeing that I am unarmed…easier than trying to hex Weasley in DADA class anyway. But then, maybe not." He smirked.

"You know, Malfoy, you're such a nasty piece of work that if it hadn't been for the fact that I don't want HG to get in any trouble, I wouldn't even need to use my wand to do what I really want." Sia sneered at him.

"What you really want? All that you want is to kiss me Raisingh, and you cook up all sorts of excuses for it. I just want to tell you theres no need for that; just tell me, I'm game for it." Draco smiled wickedly.

"Don't push it, Malfoy", Sia's eyes narrowed warningly, "I don't want to break every bone in your body and have HG held responsible for it; especially after landing myself in this hex situation trying to keep peace."

"Hex situation?"

"I pretended that my ring was lost to stop Ginny leaping on Parvati's throat, and now its _really_ lost!" Sia nearly wailed.

Draco was by now so sick of hearing the word 'ring' that he thought of just getting it and chucking it in her face to shut her up about it. He resisted the urge only because he had a plan about riling her further with it; but he would have to sidetrack her from dwelling on it, or he would go mad.

"You Gryffindors love violence so much that if there's no enemy to fight with, you fight amongst yourselves." He said snidely, and Sia's eyes narrowed again. "Why did Weasley want to throttle Patil, anyway?" he asked hastily.

"It was that stupid game. Lavender still has feelings for Ron, I think, so she proclaimed herself as having a relation with him from previous birth, if you can imagine! HG would've hurled her stack of magazines on her if I hadn't shouted out that I was starving, and Emilie very smartly seconded that. But just as HG left to get victuals, Parvati decided to tell everyone who _her_ soulmate was!" Sia told him grumpily, completely sidetracked, and Draco congratulated himself.

"So who is the lucky guy?" Draco asked sportingly, knowing the answer by now.

"Its Harry, but she never managed to get it out, as I'd guessed what she was about to say. She has a major crush on him, poor girl!" Sia grimaced.

"Poor girl! such terrible tastes!" Draco sniggered, and Sia glared at him.

"She's a poor girl not because there is anything wrong with her tastes, but rather that he's never going to return her feelings. He's too smitten with Ginny, and she's not his type… and then even if Harry does look at her, Ginny would kill her. She's all fire, that one." Sia continued to frown, and Draco noticed that she looked irresistible even in her foul mood.

"So are you…" Draco told her softly, startling her out of her temper, "…and a very tempting fire at that…" he added as he took a step towards her.

"So don't come near me." Sia managed to snap at him; she didn't want him anywhere near her, he interfered with her thinking process.

"Why not? I'm not afraid of getting burned." Draco smiled slightly as he came to stand directly in front of her, but then his smile faltered as she thrust out her wand, poking him directly over his heart with it.

"Stop right there, Malfoy. I don't want anything to have to do with you." She told him firmly.

"If you say so, Raisingh. But you've been sending some really mixed messages in this regard." He told her, not backing off.

"There is nothing mixed about what I am saying right now, Malfoy. I am not interested."

"No?" he asked her with a slight smile, her wand pressing against his chest. "But you want me, we both know that. Why not admit it, as I am admitting to wanting you?"

Sia was slightly surprised at his admission. "But I don't want you…why is the truth so hard to stomach?" she raised her eyebrows.

"Because its not the truth. Why are you in denial?" Draco asked softly, persuasively, but Sia was not ready to fall for this trap now.

"I am not in denial…" she began hotly, but stopped abruptly when Draco laughed huskily, sending shivers down her spine.

"No is the only word you've been using, Raisingh. Say yes for once…we can set fire to the castle with the heat of our passion." Sia mentally shook herself to clear the images his words conjured before her eyes. _This was not done_, she told herself fiercely, trying to maintain a grip on her senses.

But then, Draco took hold of the tip of her wand with one hand, and Sia tightened her grip thinking he was about to snatch it, but he simply raised it slightly, and stooped his head to close the distance. As Sia watched, startled, he closed his mouth over it, kissing the tip of her wand, his eyes downcast, giving it his full attention.

Sia felt a shockwave of electricity go through her at this erotic gesture, and when he released her wand, it fell from her numb fingers unheeded. Draco captured her gaze with his, and neither spoke for sometime. The tension built up between them, almost suffocating Sia, and then Draco took a step towards her, whispering "Now its my turn."

"What?" she managed to choke out, and as he smiled and showed his teeth, her eyes widened. "No…"

"Yes…" he breathed against her ear, nipping it lightly with his teeth, and she felt a delicious warmth steal through her even as she shivered. Draco straightened up and looked into her eyes, asking for permission to continue, and Sia responded by brushing his platinum locks away from his face. Draco smiled slightly as he gripped her shoulders with his hands, pulling her towards him, and Sia wrapped her arms around him as his mouth came down on hers…gently at first, and then with increasing passion as she responded hungrily to his kiss.

Draco let go of her shoulders, sliding one hand to her nape to keep her delicious mouth in place, while the other traveled to her waist, its passage igniting something deep within her. She moaned softly as his fingers played with her back, her own busy drawing patterns on his.

They didn't know how or when, but the next thing they noticed was that Sia was lying on her back on the carpet, her robe discarded to reveal cream silk pyjamas with a matching short top with noodle straps, and Draco lying above her, his robe missing too, kissing her neck, her shoulders, her chin… His one hand came to rest on her side, sliding below her to grip her hip, turning her towards him. Sia's hands were moving feverishly on his bare back, shoulders, his arms as she received his ardour with a matching passion.

As Draco raised himself slightly, his gaze traveled down, and he saw the tiny bolt of lightning at her belly winking naughtily at him in the dying firelight, and he dove for it. He took it in his mouth, and then licked her skin with his tongue, making her moan. Unable to take the sweet torture he was inflicting on her, Sia wrapped her arms around him and flipped them over. She then proceeded to return the favour, kissing him, licking him, earning moans from him. As her tongue circled his flat nipple, he shuddered and as she licked it with the tip of her tongue, he flipped them right back, kissing her mouth with unrestrained passion even as his hands were busy exploring every inch of her. As Sia raked his back with her fingernails lightly, he moaned and put one hand under her top, closing it on her breast. Sia moaned in pleasure as he played with it, teasing her, his eyes fixed on her face, and she brought his mouth back down and kissed him ardently.

They flipped over again, Sia sitting astride on his belly as she kissed his chest, Draco running his hands freely down her silk-clad body, touching, teasing, pinching and kneading her soft flesh. Sia felt his hard arousal the same moment he felt her wetness, and suddenly both of them wanted nothing more than feel their skin against each other's. Sia leaned over to kiss his mouth once again, and he put his thumbs under the thin straps of her top, pulling them down. And right at that moment, a voice rang out from the semi-darkness surrounding them, "Sia! What are you doing?"

**A/N: Long time, no update! Yeah, I know, and I'm sorry. So here's a long chapter to appease my furious Reader Gods. Please do review once you have partaken of this humble offering. :-)**


	14. One for Goodbye

Sunday morning dawned a little chilly, and some of the students could be seen wearing their warm cloaks in the Great Hall for breakfast. At the Gryffindor table, Harry and Ron were busy discussing their latest Quidditch tactics, and at first didn't notice that Hermione and Ginny were unusually frosty with each other. Or to be more accurate, Ginny was frosty with Hermione, who was trying her best to draw Ginny out, beseeching silently with her eyes for her friend to understand. Ginny had been like this ever since she had seen Hermione speak civilly with the _enemy_. None of them noticed Sia staring morosely off into the distance, unaware of what was happening around her. And certainly none of them noticed a blond Slytherin taking unusual interest in the goings on at their table.

Sia had many things to be depressed about. For starters, she had been unable to locate her ring, and didn't relish the prospect of bringing this fact to her father's notice. In fact, she positively dreaded it. Her father had forgiven her for many things in the past, and not forgiven her for a few things as well, but she was certain that if she failed to find the ring, he would probably disown her. Or worse. And then to compound matters, she had lost her wand. _Again_. She knew where it was, or rather, with whom it was, but she knew he would take his own sweet time about giving it back. She could have simply asked Hermione to Summon it for her, but her infuriating pride always got in the way of doing things simply. This was between her and Malfoy, and it would stay that way.

And then there was Malfoy himself, Sia sighed. If only she could control herself when he was around, life would be so much simpler. But no, he had to come near her, and she had to lose every sane thought in her head. And last night, Sia swallowed miserably, embarrassed beyond words, last night had been disastrous. Or it could have been, if they hadn't been interrupted. She couldn't even lift her head to steal a glance at the Slytherin table to see what he was doing. Now, she was wandless, ringless, and minus a sizeable chunk of her pride, and two of these things were his fault, Sia thought resentfully.

She would have been even more resentful had she known that _all_ of the above were entirely his fault.

Just then, Sia was jolted out of her reverie when Ginny suddenly burst out at Hermione, "Oh, please, don't try to justify yourself Herms. I refuse to understand this."

Sia, Harry and Ron, all turned to gaze at both the girls - a teary-eyed Hermione and a visibly upset Ginny.

"Say, whats going on? Gin, why are you speaking like that with Hermione? And what do you refuse to understand?" Ron asked in a puzzled tone.

Ginny glared at Hermione, debating whether or not to discuss this in front of others, but then decided that she had to let Harry and Ron know about what was going on. Harry could help, and it concerned Ron seeing as how he felt about Hermione.

"Hermione has been fraternizing with the ferret, that's what is going on!" Ginny spat out.

"Wha…?" Ron was speechless with shock, every one of his fears that had been forgotten ever since Hermione had nearly reverted to her old self coming back magnified many times over.

"Ginny!" Harry began in warning tones as Ginny's voice had carried and people from other tables were looking at them curiously, as were the rest of the Gryffindors. The Great Hall wasn't even half-full, as it being a Sunday everyone was being leisurely, but their conversation was still supposed to be private. "What are you saying?" he admonished her quietly.

"I am speaking the truth, Harry! Ask her if you don't believe me. They were speaking so civilly with each other, she was saying 'sorry' and he was saying 'thank you' , you'd never know it was _our_ Hermione and the same Malfoy!" Ginny fumed, eyes blazing.

"What? Hermione, what is the meaning of…" Ron began angrily only to be cut off by Harry.

"I am sure Hermione has a plausible reason for it. What is it, Hermione?" he asked, but his tone was a bit cool.

"For Merlin's sake, we live together! How can it be possible to fight all the time? And all I did was apologize to him, and all he did was accept my apolo…"

"That's exactly it! Why did you have to apologize to him? After all he has done to us over the years, you apologize to him over such a trivial matter? And you make apologies for _me_? He insulted my family, threatened to kick me out, and you _apologized to him_?" Ginny was breathing heavily, and it looked as though she would start breathing fire any moment now.

"He did _what_?" Harry and Ron asked in unison, dark clouds of anger gathering on their countenance.

Hermione wanted to remind Ginny that she had apologized before Malfoy had insulted her, but by now nobody was ready to listen to her. Ginny was in full flow, at any rate.

"You do realize that he came there just because he had got wind of our sleepover? He is nothing but a perverted, sick…" Ginny would have gone on, but just as Hermione burst into tears, Sia joined in the fray.

"He may be a lot of things, but he is certainly not any of those." She spoke coolly.

All four of them turned to stare at her. Sia met the eyes of each one of them briefly before turning her attention to Harry.

"He came there just by chance, and I am sure if he had known about our sleepover, he would've taken care to steer clear. HG did the right thing in apologizing to him, and he did the right thing in accepting it. I fail to see what the brouhaha is all about." She finished dismissively. Ginny was having none of it, though.

"Oh, they did the right thing, did they? You have no idea what that ferret has done to us over the years, calling Hermione filthy names, among other things, and now she…"

"And now they are both grown up, and Heads. What sort of impression would it create if they were constantly bickering? And do you actually _want_ him to call her filthy names? You seem terribly disappointed that he was civil to her!" Sia finished derisively.

Ginny gasped at that, unable to believe she had just been accused of less than honourable intentions towards her best friend.

"And how can you say he didn't come there knowing about the sleepover?" Ron began belligerently. "I bet he just couldn't resist the chance of playing peeping tom to a group of…" he abruptly stopped, going red in the face at the thought of Malfoy gawping at scantily clad Ginny _and_ Hermione.

"My dear Ron", Sia drawled sneeringly at him, unable to comprehend herself why she was defending Malfoy, "do you really think that Malfoy would get worked up at the thought of seeing a few pajama-clad girls, when he has seen lots of them without it?"

Ron's color deepened, and he stole a furtive glance at Hermione, who was gazing fixedly at her hands in her lap. Harry, who had so far been watching his friends thrash it out, decided it was time to cool things off. The way Sia put it, he certainly couldn't see anything wrong in Hermione and Malfoy being civil to each other. In fact, it came as a relief to him that Hermione wasn't being subjected to constant verbal abuse in the Head's dormitory. That certainly didn't excuse Malfoy insulting Ginny, but at least it let Hermione off the hook. And now he thought about it, Malfoy had not done a single thing this year, uptil now, to vex them. Maybe he was changing…growing up, as Sia suggested.

"Hermione, I'm sorry for doubting you. You are right, as always. And I am glad Malfoy is behaving himself with you." He told her, and Hermione looked up at him, eyes shining with tears. She tried to smile at him, failed, burst into tears once again, got up and exited the Great Hall, every eye in the room on her.

A bit stunned, the other four looked at each other uncomfortably. Sia rounded on Ginny and Ron, eyes blazing, "Look what you did to her! What was the need for going on and on about such a non-issue, will you tell me? Your level of intelligence and maturity is pathetic!" she sneered haughtily at them.

"Oh, pathetic, are we?" Ginny asked loudly, and every eye in the room turned upon them. She lowered her voice. "You seem to know a great deal more about whats going on between them, don't you Sia? What advice have you been giving to Hermione lately? And the way you have just defended Malfoy makes me think you actually like him! Is that the truth?" Ginny asked Sia, anger piercing through every word.

Sia stiffened, and her lip curled in a sneer so reminiscent of Malfoy Ginny was sure she was right. "I have been defending your best friend against your unreasonable and childish accusations, in case you didn't notice," Sia spoke through clenched teeth. "and if it looks like HG and Malfoy are standing on the same side, then maybe you need to take a look at where you are standing. You know HG better than I do; she can't be all wrong."

Ron visibly drooped at that; if Malfoy was playing some game to trap Hermione into thinking he was nice, he was doomed. Maybe it was time to finally let her know what he thought about her, before it was too late.

Sia turned her attention back to Harry, and asked him, "What do you have to say to this, Harry?"

Harry considered her for a moment, let out a sigh, and began slowly, "As much as it pains me to say this, I think if Malfoy is behaving nicely with Hermione, she is right in returning the gesture. I don't trust Malfoy, no, but I trust Hermione and her instincts. She rarely does anything without thinking it through, and I am really glad Malfoy is not calling her names, at any rate. I agree with Sia; we were wrong in tearing into Hermione for such a small thing." He finished, and Sia flashed him a smile that he returned. Ginny saw this and it irked her further, but she really saw red when Sia looked at her and raised one eyebrow slightly, mocking her.

"You know what, Sia," she said viciously, making sure her voice carried, "I think you are beginning to like Malfoy, and want all of us to like him for you. What surprises me is how Hermione fell in with your pla…" Ginny couldn't complete her sentence, because Sia stood up in one swift motion from her seat, and at the same moment the milk jug at Ginny's elbow exploded, covering Ginny, Ron and Harry in milk and shards of broken glass.

There was a sudden silence in the Great Hall as every person present was staring at them. Ginny glared at Sia and took out her wand and cleaned herself even as Harry surreptitiously cleaned away the rest of the mess. Ron swallowed nervously and looked up at Sia who was glaring at Ginny with a terrible expression on her face.

"Just because Harry agrees with me and not with you is no reason to suggest there is anything between me and Malfoy!" Sia told Ginny with cruel amusement in her voice, guessing the real cause of Ginny's outburst. It was quite a while since she had lost control of her magic, and resolved to be more careful.

Ginny snarled and jumped up at that, pointing her wand at Sia. Just as she hurled her bat bogey hex at Sia, Sia snatched her unused and sparkling plate from the table to shield herself. Ginny's spell collided with the goblin-made metal, and deflecting from the polished surface, rebounded at an angle to hit Ron instead. Ron yelped and flailed his arms, trying to beat them off. Enraged, Ginny raised her wand once again but this time Harry caught hold of her wrist with one hand and snatched her wand away with the other.

"Enough!" he bellowed, and turned to help Ron.

Ginny and Sia continued to stare at each other, Ginny heatedly and Sia with a malicious smirk upon her face.

"So what is the moral of the story, little girl?" Sia asked Ginny so quietly only she could hear. "Lesson 1: It takes more than a wand to hurt Sia Raisingh. Lesson 2: Simple stuff like bat bogey hex is something that I have left far behind me. Lesson 3: Behave around Harry, _if you want to keep him_."

As Ginny's color shot up at that, Sia smirked at her and walked off.

* * *

Draco was lying on his stomach on his comfortable bed in his room, twirling Sia's wand playfully between his fingers. He smirked as he thought that she kept losing her wand because of him. Last night she had forgotten it on the common room floor as she had nearly bolted from there, having dropped it there in the first place because of him, he smirked again.

Aaah, last night, he sighed as he rolled over. Who would've thought he would be frustrated at the height of his arousal by Luna Lovegood, of all people! But maybe it was better that it was her, otherwise it would've been all over the school by now. He laughed as he thought about the story Sia had cooked up, about checking his _teeth_, of all things! Luna had fallen for it straight, and even suggested that he might be having an infection of Molarphagi, whatever they were! He had desperately wanted to protest, considering it were his ivories under discussion, but Sia had glared at him so fiercely he thought she might burn a hole right through him. So he had played along, more so because she was still sitting on top of him, frozen in the position Luna had caught them in, about to kiss him. It hadn't helped though that her top had slid down considerably, his doing of course, and the upper curvature of her breasts were open to his perusal. But all in all, he was secretly relieved when Sia had convinced Luna that his teeth were not in any imminent danger and had left with her to sleep in Hermione's room.

Oh well, he sighed again, but if only they had not been interrupted! He had so wanted Sia at that time, he had been unable to go to sleep afterwards. It had been his mistake; he should've made sure they were in the privacy of his room, but then Sia had rendered him incapable of logical thoughts. He reflected when was the last time a girl had had that kind of effect on him, and was unable to remember.

He rolled over onto his stomach again and propped himself on one elbow, playing with her wand with the other hand. That morning, he had watched her carefully at breakfast from his table, and found her looking rather depressed. That was strange; after an episode like that with him, girls usually blushed, and a few naughty ones smiled and winked, while ones like Pansy looked smug. But nobody looked depressed, for Merlin's sake! He knew how good he was, and her seeming depression was a cause for concern. He had to really get a move on if he wanted to win that bet. Last night he had lost control completely and the bet was the last thing on his mind, but that would have to change. As much as he wanted Sia physically, he had to keep his goal in mind. He just couldn't afford to lose…his pride, his ego…a lot of things were at stake. He would have to work on her, and soon. What was that goblin saying, mould the gold while it pours! And last night's events would still be fresh in her mind.

He got up from the bed, determined to find her. He flung the wand on to his nightstand beside the ring, pushed a hand through his hair and brushed off imaginary flecks of dirt from his shirt. As he stepped out, he suddenly recalled the fracas that had taken place at the Gryffindor table that morning, and burst out laughing. He knew what it was all about from the way Hermione had run away crying; Weaselette was having problems with their civil behaviour towards each other. He shook his head, smiling; if the Gryffindors couldn't find anyone else, they tore apart each other. It was a miracle the Gryffindor tower was still standing.

* * *

Sia was walking about aimlessly and disconsolately. As satisfying as it had been putting Ginny in her place, that high had worn off a long time back. Now she was dreading what would happen if she didn't find her ring, and was getting more and more irritated about the fact that Malfoy had her wand. In fact, she was getting irritated by his very existence on the planet. But most of all, what really bothered her was the effect he always had on her. She had tried to analyze this particular problem from every angle, and had come to the conclusion that it was his heady scent that caused her to lose touch with reality. After that his eyes, and then his nearness. And then his touch. And kisses. And caresses.

Ugh, she seethed at herself. But she had taken care of the basic problem as she saw it, albeit temporarily. She had found Hermione sobbing in a deserted classroom, and had asked her to temporarily block her sense of smell. Now she couldn't smell anything at all, and was glad that Hermione had been too distracted to question her motives. Then she had tried to find Malfoy to test her newfound immunity, and had failed to locate him. And now she was back to getting depressed about her ring, and her wand.

As she walked past a giant statue of a rather ferocious looking wizard, a hand suddenly snaked out and grabbed her around the waist, and she was pulled smack against a solid chest in the shadows of the statue. Startled, Sia immediately brought up her knee in reflex action to kick the living daylights out of the smartass who had tried to manhandle her till she noticed the platinum hair.

"Flaming Chimaeras, Malfoy, what the heck do you think you are doing?" she hissed, relaxing a little. "I could've killed you, or worse!"

Draco laughed. "It's the worse part that worries me." But he brought his other arm around her as well, holding her firmly in place.

"In that case, what are you doing?" she asked him coolly, secretly delighted and slightly disappointed that she couldn't smell him at all.

"Trying to wish you a proper Good Morning, after the abrupt way you said Good Night." He retorted, nuzzling her neck with his nose, and Sia decided she should've asked Hermione to temporarily block her sense of touch as well.

"It should've told you that I didn't want to do anything with you." Sia snapped, and Draco shook with silent laughter against her.

"That's what you keep saying, Raisingh, and I will definitely leave you alone the day you really mean it." He said softly against her hair. Sia felt heavenly in his arms and relaxed against him without realizing it, and he looked into her eyes. "What do you say, shall we say a proper Good Morning, then?" he murmured, and Sia, sidetracked by his proximity, was about to agree wholeheartedly, but the rational part of her brain kicked into gear just in time.

"Absolutely not", she told him, poking him in the chest with an index finger to keep him away as he leaned into her.

Draco looked down at her finger and smiled impishly. "Do you remember what I did the last time you tried to put something between us?"

Sia flushed as she remembered the gesture she had found so erotic, but managed to keep her thought process on track. "Hmm…speaking of which, where did you learn that?" she tried to sound cool and collected, as though she were discussing the latest Transfiguration spell.

"Learn it?" Draco feigned a hurt expression. "My dear Raisingh, you break my heart by insulting my creative talents."

Sia rolled her eyes at that, and he continued in a lofty manner, "Just to prove to you how creative I am, I'm going to do something totally different this time." He proclaimed and as Sia stifled a giggle, he took her finger into his mouth and repeated the gesture of the night before.

Sia sucked in her breath; her nose might be immune to his scent, pheromones and all, but the rest of her certainly wasn't. But just as she thought she was going to melt literally, he brought the exquisite torture to a stop and looked up into her eyes, smiling a little.

"This was different?" Sia asked after clearing her throat and giving herself a vigorous mental shake, and for effect, wiped her finger on his shirtfront, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Of course it was", Draco quipped. "Last time it was your wand, remember?"

"Which reminds me, where is my wand?" she asked rather crossly.

"By my bed…want to come and collect it?" he asked wickedly.

"You obviously think I was born yesterday." Sia sneered.

"If I did, I wouldn't be holding you in my arms like this", he smiled and tightened his hold on her.

Sia felt her breasts crush softly against his chiseled chest that she had explored so lovingly mere hours before. Something began melting inside her at the memory, and she felt her legs turning to jelly and a languorous warmth steal over her entire body. Draco felt her stiff body relax against him, and when he lowered his mouth to hers she welcomed his tongue willingly. They tasted each other slowly, relishing the memory and each other, taking time over every caress, every touch a promise of things to come. Sia felt as though it was destined that this guy should be kissing her, and so sweetly, and she moulded herself against him unthinkingly, sliding one hand under his arm to caress his back and the other through his silken hair. Draco shuddered as he felt each and every curve of Sia pressed intimately against him, and deepened the kiss, losing himself in the kiss and her.

Their ardour increased in urgency, and Draco slid one arm down and brought up one of her legs to slide around his hips, bringing her closer still. Sia responded with a low moan, and Draco caressed her denim-clad thigh with his long fingers. His touch filled her with an overwhelming ache, and suddenly she wanted nothing more than his skin against hers, and him within her. She wanted to cry out in frustration at the barrier their jeans posed, and let out a small whimper. Draco heard the message her body was sending him and growled in satisfaction, as that was what he wanted as well. He turned them around so that he was facing the wall, and pushed her against it, all the while trailing down hot, wet kisses along her jaw and neck. Sia clutched at his shirt and pulled the fine fabric, as though determined to tear it way from him. Draco thrust himself against her, and Sia felt her world shatter around her like glass. Draco looked into her eyes, and read the want and desire he felt echoed there. Before he could decide what to do, they heard voices and footsteps coming near, and without a word, Draco pulled her against him and retreated further into the shadow of the statue.

As a group of fifth years passed unaware of their presence, Draco felt his tense muscles relax a little. There was no use pretending he had been anywhere in control; the way their bodies were plastered together, he was sure she could feel his erection, his wildly pulsating heart, his ragged breathing. The only consolation was she was in much the same condition, if the heart hammering away against him was any indication. He felt her squirm, and realized he was holding her far too tightly and relaxed his grip. As Sia made to step away from him, he held on to her, albeit gently.

"Hold on…for a while", he managed to rasp out. He didn't know whether she would agree or not, but the next instant felt her head rest against his shoulder. He let out a long breath and rested his head on top of hers. They stood like that for a while, getting themselves under control, holding each other loosely.

As sanity returned, Draco felt like cursing. What in the name of Salazar's beard did he think he was doing, about to take her in a public place in broad daylight? Okay, they were hidden from general view, but Malfoys did not behave like that…like common stock! And the fact that a mere kiss could make him lose control like that frightened him. To be absolutely candid with himself, he wanted Sia for himself, and the hell with the bet. Well, not the hell with it; he wanted to win the bet too…but he knew that he couldn't cast aside this Gryffindor as a triumph; he would want to be with her. He was rapidly coming to the conclusion he wanted Sia as his girlfriend so he could spend a lot of time with her. Her very presence electrified him, and he enjoyed being with her, even sparring with her. He liked her toughness, her wacky sense of humour, her wisecracks, and to a certain extent, her pranks that were often directed at him. The only thing was to convince her because for some obscure reason, she kept on saying no eventhough both of them knew that she wanted him just as much.

Sia slowly opened her eyes, her breathing now nearly back to normal. What had just happened had frightened her. If they hadn't been disturbed for a while longer…she couldn't bear to think after that. She found it most shocking to find herself behaving like a common slut, about to have sex in the middle of a corridor in broad daylight! She instinctively knew that this was a guy to be avoided at all cost. She could understand physical attraction, but if this guy could reduce her to behaving like an animal, she didn't want to be around him. If a simple leisurely kiss could do this, she dreaded what a full-fledged affair with him would do to her. She would most probably be left with a broken heart, and she wanted to avoid that at all costs. There was no place for a guy in her life…specially a guy with a strong personality like Draco Malfoy. She would have to do something to get him out of her system, and fast.

As Sia gently stepped away, Draco leaned forward towards her, one arm still around her waist. "Good Morning", he whispered. Sia couldn't summon enough energy to even frown at him, and simply looked away. For the first time, she couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes.

Draco sensed her uneasiness; he felt much the same way. To lighten things, he looked around and remarked casually, "I can see the old walls beginning to smoke."

Sia's swollen lips trembled at his attempt at humour. "In which case, we should stay away from each other. I don't want this place burned down before I pass NEWTs."

"You always seem to want to run away, Raisingh. I thought Gryffindor house stood for bravery." When Sia didn't reply, he went on softly, "what are you afraid of, Raisingh?"

"I am not afraid, Malfoy. I just don't want…this." She managed to get out.

"You obviously think I was born yesterday." He smiled, mocking her earlier words. "Don't you think I would know the difference between a 'yes' and a 'no' by now?"

Sia stiffened, and turned to look at him. "I said no, and I mean no."

Draco raised his eyebrows. "Not even in the name of house-unity? Just think what it would mean if we got together…a Slytherin and a Gryffindor!" his voice was playful.

"I am not that charitable to sacrifice my happiness for this lofty ideal, thank Merlin!" she replied in clipped tones.

Draco considered her thoughtfully. "If you think we are moving too fast, maybe we should slow down a little…you know, taking things a bit easy and…" but Sia cut across him.

"You are misunderstanding me, Malfoy", she told him coolly. "I am not saying 'not now'; I am saying 'no, not ever'. Theres a big difference." She spoke with a sort of finality in her voice.

Draco stared at her a bit incredulously. Was this the same girl who was ready to rent his shirt just a few minutes back because she couldn't get enough of him? He actually looked down to check, and sure enough, the places where Sia had clutched at the fabric were mussed. Sia followed his gaze and flushed and turned away from him, dislodging his arm from around her waist.

Draco was in a bit of daze. For the first time in his life, he had asked a girl for something, and he had been turned down. He tried to think what he was feeling about this…hurt, humiliated? No, he decided, not yet anyway. But he did feel a burning curiosity; what girl in her right mind would turn _him_ down?

"Why?" he finally managed to ask.

"Because…" Sia sighed, her back to him. How could she even begin to tell him! That he scared her by making her forget herself around him? That she couldn't afford to forget herself, because she was the only person in her life she could count on! That she was afraid he would take everything out of her life, or rather, that she would give up everything she held dear for him! She couldn't tell him all this, and he would never understand anyway; girls were a knut a dozen for him. She had always been a loner and she would stay that way. It was a torture to deny herself something that she so wanted, that was within her reach…but she knew her path in life was decided and it didn't go anywhere near Draco Malfoy.

While she was casting around for something to say, her gaze fell on a dark-haired boy who had just rounded the corner and was coming towards them. For a moment, Sia's scattered thoughts couldn't place him though he looked familiar. Then she suddenly realized who he was.

"Because", she began again, more firmly this time, "I'm dating Terry Boot." She stated.

Draco saw the boy in question making his way towards them, and was amused Sia thought him such a child as to fall for it.

He slid his arm around her again from behind, making her shiver, and rested his chin on her shoulder, his head fitting perfectly in the nook that seemed tailor-made for him.

"And does Terry Boot know of his immense good fortune yet?" he asked her amusedly.

Just as Sia opened her mouth to reply, a dark-haired girl came up behind Boot and tapped his shoulder. He turned around and with a whoop, swung the girl into his arms, covering her mouth with his. Sia closed her mouth and her shoulders sagged involuntarily.

"Evidently not", Draco answered his own question, his voice rippling with laughter.

He was laughing at her, Sia thought in growing irritation. Damn all boys, she raged silently, they were more trouble than they were worth!

"He will soon enough", she told him confidently, and Draco raised his head to peer at her.

"I might be wrong, but you seem to have the instincts of a predator. You do realize he's seeing someone else?" he asked her.

"So?"

"Isn't anything sacred around you?" he asked, mildly puzzled.

"If it isn't the pot calling the kettle black! When did seeing Parkinson stop you from rolling in the hay with anything that wore a skirt?" Sia countered, slightly amused herself.

"You have a point there" he conceded. Terry Boot had by now set the girl down and was talking to her with his back to them, giving them a partial view of his girlfriend. Draco suddenly laughed softly.

"What?" Sia asked, irritated he had again found something to laugh about.

"I just remembered. You Gryffindors seem to have a habit of causing havoc, and you frequently end up bringing down storms upon each other. With the rate you people are going, there might not be a single Gryffindor left before long. Sure you don't want to hook up with me, just so at least one of you survives?" Draco was smiling devilishly.

"What are you talking about?" Sia frowned looking up at him, thinking this had something to do with her standoff with Ginny that morning.

"The girl on whose toes you are about to step" Draco gestured with his eyes towards the girl with Boot. "Romilda Vane. Fifth year Gryffindor. Makes her opinion known on everything, and quite forthcoming on her likes and dislikes." He finished, eyes dancing.

Sia stared at the girl in question. So that's why she looked familiar, she thought. But still, that didn't explain how…

"How do you know so much about her?" she demanded, managing to keep grumpiness from her voice.

Draco studied his fingernails instead of answering, and Sia sighed, half-amused, half-exasperated.

"Is there any girl in Hogwarts you haven't touched?" she asked him.

"There are plenty, in fact" he told her wickedly. "I have tastes."

He looked so endearingly naughty standing there saying wicked things, Sia turned around and planted a kiss on his mouth without thinking. Her impulsive action took him by surprise, and before he could imprison her within his arms, she stepped away nimbly and smiled roguishly.

"What was that for?" he asked, touching his fingers to his mouth, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Sia suddenly sobered up. It was no use delaying the inevitable, she had to deny herself this temptation.

"It was for goodbye" she told him softly, stepped out of the shadows and walked away from him.

**A/N: Sorry for taking forever to update, but I want you to know that I haven't abandoned this story, and will try my very best to update regularly from now on. Cheers. And do drop me a line.**


	15. Status Quo

Draco made his way back to his dormitory before dinner, having spent some time in the Slytherin common room with his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle. It felt infinitely satisfying to be agreed with on everything he uttered, for a change. Sia had done little else except disagree with him on everything under the sun, though he really liked the 'else' part, however little it might have been. He had been numbed by her last refusal, but thank Merlin, after a few hours in the dungeons with other Slytherins, he was starting to get back his venomous edge and had sharpened his vindictive capabilities. And he had something planned for the high and mighty Miss Raisingh; after all, he did have two aces up his sleeve.

As he pushed open the portrait door, he could hear sound of laughter coming from within, and winced. When would Granger stop springing surprises on him, he wondered. She wasn't speaking to him since he had insulted the Weaselette last night, not that he particularly missed it. But it still surprised him to see her sticking up for a friend who had made her cry at breakfast that morning. Gryffindors were really strange.

He stepped inside and took a couple of mental steps back at the sight that greeted him. On a plush armchair by the fire lounged Weaselette, and on another right opposite to her sat Granger. The stiff, uncomfortable chair had been dragged near the fire and on it was perched Raisingh. But the sight that gave him the hives was that on _his_ couch, sitting side by side with their legs stretched out comfortably, were Potter and the Weasel.

They were all chatting animatedly and laughing together at some joke, and the scene that had taken place that morning in the great hall seemed unreal looking at them. There was no way getting past them without making his presence known, and he hated the notion of going back, running away from his own dormitory. A bunch of Gryffindors was not going to scare him into leaving his territory, he decided. And he was dying for a confrontation with them; it had been too long. He squared his shoulders and walked towards them.

"If it isn't a cozy little gathering!" he drawled sarcastically, addressing Hermione, who started and then flushed. "I'm surprised the rest of the Gryffindor house isn't here. Did you forget to invite them, Granger, or are they just fashionably late?"

The rest of them were surprised as well, he could tell, and was secretly amused when Ron nearly jumped.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked aggressively, recovering.

"What is it with you Weasleys that you just can't seem to remember that I live here?" Draco sneered at Ron. "or is it that you resent my being the Head Boy because that stops you from taking up permanent residence here? Its nice and comfortable, I know, but nothing special really. But maybe for _you_, its…"

"Leave us alone, Malfoy." Hermione, who didn't want Draco rubbing up her friends the wrong way, cut him off. Ron was beginning to look dangerous, and then there was also Harry. Insulting a wandless Ginny was one thing, angering Harry and Ron when they both had wands was quite another. And there was every chance Ginny might hex him before anyone else.

Draco was in no mood to leave. His irritation at being refused by Sia now extended to the entire Gryffindor house, particularly to those sitting there, trespassing on his personal space. He wanted to see them riled and bristling with anger, and he wanted to do it himself.

"Oh come, Granger. You don't expect me to play the gentleman for two evenings in a row, do you?" he asked Hermione, voice dripping with acid, his eyes beginning to acquire a silvery sheen. Hermione recognized them as sure signs of danger. "I mean, its out-of-character for me. I have a reputation to maintain, after all. What would people say if I tolerated blood-traitors in my room for two consecutive nights? Father would be so disappointed." He shook his head sadly at that, ambling over with indolent grace to lean against the fireplace, facing them.

"Oh, you can spare him the disappointment by not writing to him about it, Malfoy" Ginny told him sweetly. "By the way, are the inmates of Azkaban allowed personal letters?" she asked generally, and Ron grinned appreciatively.

Draco's eyes narrowed at that, and immediately turned to pure silver. Hermione shivered when she saw it. Draco's gaze came to rest on Harry, who was responsible for putting his father in Azkaban in the first place, and saw a small smile playing on his mouth. All thoughts of scoring points with him vanished the moment he saw it.

"I think Potter can tell you that", he told Ginny with a cruel amusement, his eyes fixed on Harry. "After all, his godfather had graced the place with his presence for quite a long time. But I seriously doubt anyone ever bothered to send him a mail there; his family had disowned him and the only people who could write to him were dead." He finished softly, and Harry's green eyes flashed fire.

"Malfoy…", he began darkly, but Hermione managed to jump in, wishing to avoid a confrontation at all costs.

"We are having a weekend get-together" she nearly yelled to grab the eyeballs of the two boys who were locked in a battle of stares. "We meet every weekend just to spend some quality time together seeing as I no longer live in the Gryffindor tower." Hermione knew she was blabbering, but couldn't help it.

Draco slowly swiveled his head her way, and she trembled at the anger she saw harnessed in the fathomless silver of his eyes. Why was he so angry, she thought in despair.

"I'm sorry I forgot to tell you about this" she ploughed on bravely, hoping to get him to back off, but Draco stared at her pointedly, and she added, "about this too."

After a moment, Draco nodded almost imperceptibly, and Hermione rather thought she saw the stormy sea raging in his eyes recede a little. She began to relax, but she had been too optimistic; she had reckoned without the other Gryffindors in the room, who were now well and truly riled.

"There she goes again" Ginny drawled, and to her horror, Hermione saw that Ron and Harry appeared to agree with her.

"Why are you apologizing to him, Hermione? You have every right to invite your friends over if you want to; you live here." Ron spoke harshly.

"Ever heard of common civility, Weasley? It went by while you were pigging out, most probably." Draco remarked snidely.

Ron's colour shot up at that and he snatched out his wand. Harry laid a restraining hand on his friend's arm as he turned to Draco.

"Ever heard of manners, Malfoy? They knocked and knocked but you wouldn't open the door" Harry told him darkly.

"Is it? Could be that I had company at the time" Draco looked at Harry and smirked, and Harry's colour shot up as he caught his meaning.

"Watch out, Malfoy", Harry told him in a dangerous voice. "Maybe you have forgotten that Crabbe and Goyle are not standing behind you right now."

"As I told your esteemed girlfriend just yesterday," Draco made a low mocking bow towards Ginny, who bristled, "I don't need anyone else to fight my battles for me."

"Well, how have times changed then!" Ron remarked, his colour nearly back to normal, and Harry and Ginny laughed at the memory of Malfoy always hiding behind his two thuggish cronies in the past.

"By the way", Draco spoke to Ginny as though he hadn't heard Ron, "green really suits you." His eyes danced in wicked amusement as they ran up and down her body clad in a cream blouse and charcoal-gray skirt.

Ginny blanched, and then flushed to a bright red, and Harry let go of Ron to take out his own wand. Ron was frozen in shock, and then started coloring up again.

"Quidditch!" Hermione shouted, drawing every pair of eyes in the room, each doubting her sanity. "How has your team's quidditch practice been going on?" she asked hurriedly, trying to save Draco from being roasted alive after his ill-bred remark with the first thing that popped in her head.

As it turned out, it was the wrong thing to say, as Draco's eyes narrowed at her statement and a hint of pink tinged his cheeks. Quidditch practice had become a taboo phrase as far as he was concerned. Vaisey was no good as a captain; every suggestion he made was useless, and he was no strategist. Draco had a hard time holding his tongue and telling him what to do. He sometimes thought Crabbe or even Goyle would've made a better captain; at least they would've let Draco have a free reign without any ego hassles. And it seemed the Gryffindors knew of his predicament from the smiles that lighted up their faces.

"The first match of the season's not far away now, is it!" Ginny smiled gleefully at Hermione, thinking Hermione had found a surefire way to rile the Slytherin. "Which one is it…oh yes! Slytherin v/s Hufflepuff."

"You know, the Hufflepuffs are so pathetic they would lose the match even if they played alone" Ron opined loudly. "Personally I think they are going to slaughter Slytherin", he added snidely.

Draco flushed, and glared at Hermione for bringing this sore topic up. She looked back helplessly; her knowledge and interest of quidditch didnot extend to hanging on to every tiny scrap of news about the game.

"Hufflepuff are indeed a pathetic team, and Slytherin are going to win comfortably" Draco spoke with a confidence he did not feel, and was rewarded with laughter erupting from Harry, Ginny and Ron for his trouble.

"That's the spirit, Malfoy, keep it up" Harry told him grinning widely.

"Even if you are convinced of being trounced" Ron finished, and the three laughed again.

Draco was seriously annoyed now. He could've shut them up with a stinging reply, but in his heart, he knew they were right. And that angered him even more.

"Slytherin are going to win, I tell you" he told them in a slightly raised voice, but they just laughed harder than ever.

"Keep telling yourself that, Malfoy, and maybe you'll start believing it one day" Ginny told him. Ron was rolling around in his seat clutching his stomach he was laughing so hard. _On his couch_, Draco noticed sourly.

Suddenly he couldn't take it anymore. He took two quick steps towards Ron and glared at him from a distance of about six inches so hard Ron sobered up.

"Slytherin. Are. Going. To. Win." He stated emphatically, daring Ron to challenge him with his menacing silver eyes raining frost at him.

"Shall we have a bet on that?" a new voice asked him, and his eyes leaped to Sia whom he had carefully avoided to look at since he had set foot there.

She sat there straight on the hard chair, her hands on her lap, and at first Draco wondered if she had been punished for something. But then his eyes traveled over her, taking in her wavy hair trapped loosely by a brown scarf, her earthy-brown dress that could win an award for being the shortest possible dress that managed to cover the derriere; it was decent by about half an inch. Her attire ended in knee-length boots in brown suede, and her stance was so rigid Draco thought that if she hadn't spoken, anyone could have mistaken her for a statue. A very beautiful, sinfully delightful statue. Something like the one he had seen in Egypt, of that famous Egyptian muggle queen, what was her name-oh yes, Cleopatra. She had crossed her legs at the ankles so deliciously Draco wanted to run his tongue at the place where one thigh pressed against another, just where her dress ended, and was sure she would untangle those silky legs the moment he did so, and then…

He gave himself a mental shake and concentrated on her face, which was impassive. "Excuse me?" he asked her glacially.

"She asked you if you were ready to bet on your team's chances against Hufflepuff" Harry snapped uncharacteristically, and Draco stared at him and saw him flashing emerald fire at him with his eyes. _Well, well_, Draco thought sneeringly, surprised that Harry had noticed him eyeing Sia lustfully and recognized the look, _not as innocent as a unicorn, are we Potter_! The thought somehow cheered him.

"A bet on my team's chances in the upcoming match?" Draco asked Harry quietly, aware of the trap the Gryffindors were setting out for him. He wondered how to get out of it without causing any everlasting damage to his image. But the decision was taken out of his hands the next moment.

"If you really think you can win, and are not afraid, of course!" Ginny simpered at him.

"I am not afraid…" Draco began, and then could've bitten his tongue. Now he was trapped.

"That's decided then", Sia spoke decisively, and untangling her long legs, stood up in one fluid movement. Draco decided she must've had quite some practice in wearing such dangerously short dresses, as she managed to stay decent throughout. He forcefully brought his mind back to what she was saying.

"If you lose, you attend our 'cozy little gathering' every weekend till your next match, and serve us refreshments with a sweet smile and an even sweeter disposition." Sia pronounced, much to the delight of Ron and Ginny. Hermione turned a little pale.

Draco felt anger erupt within him like a volcano. What did the arrogant girl think of herself? Wanting Draco Malfoy to behave like a common house-elf? She had a colossal nerve! His eyes found Hermione's, and her frightened expression angered him even more. It was she who had started this stupid topic in the first place, he thought furiously. Well, now she could take the consequences.

Draco reached her in two steps and saw her eyes widen in apprehension. He brought his hands to rest on the armrests of her chair, bringing his face down to her level, effectively imprisoning her. Hermione stared at him nervously.

"And if I win", he hissed menacingly, his cool breath fanning her face, "I throw a party for my entire team and friends, here, in this common room, and you, my dear Head Girl, play the hostess." Hermione gulped.

"Done" Sia spoke from behind him before the others could protest.

Draco stared at Hermione hard, and nodded with satisfaction. Then he backed off from her and went up the stairs to his room, his mind already formulating a plan to get back at Sia for her audacity.

The Gryffindors were silent for a while, and then suddenly Ron burst out laughing, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Can you believe our luck? We just cornered Malfoy into agreeing to this bet he's bound to lose! You were brilliant, Sia!" he whooped.

Sia eyed him coolly, but refrained from saying anything. Hermione, however, had plenty to say.

"It wasn't brilliant at all" she began hotly. "In fact, it was quite foolish. What do you think would happen if Slytherin win? I would be stuck with that unpleasant lot while they celebrate and drink themselves silly and insult Gryffindors in general and me in particular! Did you stop to consider my position before agreeing to this stupid bet?" she glared at Sia and stood up in agitation.

Before Sia could respond, Ron jumped up from the couch.

"Oh, come on Hermione, you haven't watched this Slytherin team in action. We have. The word 'pathetic' doesn't even begin to describe them. I'm ready to kiss the giant squid if Slytherin win, their chances are so remote." Ron guffawed.

Hermione looked coldly at him. "You have strange tastes, Ronald," she told him in chilling tones, and Ron's laughter died rather abruptly, his face colouring up.

"Besides, don't get your hopes up on a Slytherin defeat, Ron." Sia drawled at him. "I am almost certain that Slytherin are going to win."

"What?" Ron and Ginny cried in unison.

"How can you say that?" Harry asked Sia, frowning slightly. "Anyone who has watched them practice this year has been literally in splits, and every other team knows that when they play Slytherin, that's one match they are bound to win."

"Precisely." Sia told him earnestly. "Practically everyone is writing them off, so they have the advantage of springing a surprise. Moreover, do you think that after what just happened here, Malfoy is going to let his team lose? No way. Take it from me, Slytherin are going to win." Sia walked over to the fireplace to stand in the place just vacated by Draco, and in much the same pose. Ginny frowned.

"If you are so sure of that, why did you propose this bet? And why agree to his insulting terms?" Ginny asked her accusingly. Harry and Ron tensed; they didn't want a repeat of what had happened in the great hall that morning, particularly Ron, who had been the unsuspecting victim of their spat.

"I proposed this bet just to see his reaction. I was almost sure he was going to back off and escape to his room, but you cut off his escape route with your dare." Sia told Ginny, and the boys were relieved to see a small smile on her face. "And his terms are not insulting, ours are. Anyway, since he's going to win we don't have to worry about that."

"Why agree to a dare we're going to lose?" Ron grumbled aloud. "I was starting to imagine that ferret walking around with a tray loaded with butterbeers and sandwiches and pasties and…"

"It'll be a sad sight to see a proud guy like Malfoy reduced to serving canapés to his enemies!" Sia pronounced without really thinking, and everyone looked at her, surprised. She realized what she had blurted out, even if it was the truth, and switched to damage control. "But jokes apart, I wouldn't touch anything he gave me simply because he is entirely capable of putting some funny stuff in it. I don't want to go around with half my face yellow and the other half magenta after eating a pumpkin pasty, do you?"

Ron, who hadn't taken this particular hazard into account before, seemed the most disturbed. "Blimey, I hadn't thought of that!" he said worriedly, his fantasy going up in smoke before his eyes.

"That's so very sad and all that," Hermione spoke up bitingly, "But I would really like to know the point of agreeing to a bet where I would be the only loser."

Before anyone could say anything, Sia started laughing and walked up to her, putting her arms around her shoulder.

"C'mon HG, do you need to worry when the 'henchwoman' is here to protect you?" she asked her. "Malfoy doesn't realize it yet, but by the time his celebratory party is over, he'll be wishing he'd lost the bet."

Everyone looked at her, and Ginny smiled slyly as Ron laughed and Harry shook his head with a slight smile. Nobody noticed that Hermione looked even more worried.

* * *

Dinner was a noisy affair as usual, and the Gryffindors were more boisterous than most. Everybody was having such a good time Sia had even forgotten about her wand and ring. As they got up to go and reached the bottom of the staircase, laughing over something Ron had said, Draco sauntered over and blocked their way. Their laughter abruptly stopped.

Sia looked up at him a bit worriedly. She knew he would be cross over her goading him into accepting that bet, but she had desperately wanted to return to their relationship as it had been before Hermione's sleepover. It was self-preservation pure and simple. But now she wondered what he would do; he was not the kind of person to take things lying down.

To her surprise, Draco did not look angry. In fact, he had a very pleasant expression on his face, as though the sight of her was warming him from within. There was such tenderness in his eyes Sia could do little else except stare at him, completely disarmed. Her friends noticed this as well, and got suspicious. Others walking past them noticed too; after all, Draco Malfoy standing near Harry Potter and the two not coming to blows was a rare occurrence, so naturally everyone wanted to know what was up.

Without a word, Draco slowly took something out from his robes. It was her wand. Sia stared at him, transfixed. Then he smiled at her, and spoke quietly, "I told you it would be on my nightstand, didn't I? That's where it was! You were worrying needlessly." He spoke in a soft, intimate voice, cutting out everyone else from their world. Then he offered her the wand.

Sia was too rapt to take notice, and he smiled understandingly. Then he touched the wand softly to her cheeks, and she started. He offered her the wand again, and she took it without realizing what she was doing. Then he whispered, "Good Night", turned around, and climbed the stairs.

Sia came to her senses when someone nudged her none-too-gently. She looked around and saw it was Ginny. But Ginny had a slightly worried expression on her face. Sia slowly looked around herself, and saw people whispering and pointing to her. She scowled at them, and they started moving, still whispering.

Belatedly, Sia realized what had happened. She had been made a first class fool, and this time in front of the entire school! And those who didn't know anything would also know by tomorrow, she was sure. Damn Malfoy, she seethed. Now they were truly back to where they had started.

Realizing the horror of her situation, she looked up to where Draco had disappeared. He was still standing there, half hidden in shadows. As she saw him and her eyes widened at his colossal nerve and the implications of his utterances, he winked at her, smiled wickedly, and was gone.

Status quo had been restored, and with a vengeance.

**A/N: Thank you everyone for your reviews. I hope I have answered all the questions you had, and I hope everyone is enjoying the story. Cheers.**


	16. Experimental Magic

**Warning: This story carries a Mature warning for a reason. If you are below 17 or not comfortable with graphic violence, please don't read. I can't stress this enough.**

Monday morning at breakfast, the Gryffindors were back to being their animated selves. Even Sia had put behind her humiliation at Draco's hands the night before and was enjoying herself as Harry was pulling Ron's leg and Seamus was rolling in laughter beside her.

Just then, hundreds of owls swooped over their tables bearing letters and stuff, and Sia marveled at the sight eventhough she was becoming used to it now. At Beauxbatons, the house-elves were responsible for delivering your mail to you while you were fast asleep at night, so that when you woke up, it was the first thing you saw.

Not expecting anything for herself, Sia was surprised when a handsome eagle owl landed right beside her plate and considered her regally. Puzzled, Sia untied the small parcel and letter, not noticing the sudden hush that had fallen around her at first. She freed the owl from its burden and it flew away immediately. She opened the parcel first, and was amazed to find a velvet box inside. Opening it, she cried in delight as she saw her ring. She took it out immediately and kissed it in heartfelt relief and taking off her chain, slipped it on as a pendant and tucked the chain safely inside her robes, feeling the comforting warmth of the bejeweled metal against her skin. She was saved! She then turned her attention to the letter, wondering who had found it and was gracious enough to return it to her.

As she opened the letter and read the few words written on it, her world went blank for a few seconds. She stared at the words stupidly for sometime, unable to comprehend the meaning behind it all, and then as it dawned on her, she slowly looked up at the Slytherin table, where Draco was allowing the same owl to drink from his jug of milk. He looked up at her, smiled serenely, and went back to pampering his owl.

_His owl_. How could she have overlooked that! After Hedwig and Pigwidgeon, and possibly Fawkes, Draco's eagle owl was perhaps the most famous bird around Hogwarts. And now she looked around herself, she noticed the silence, the whispers, the pointing fingers. If anyone had been in doubt last night that there was something going on between them, now even they would be convinced.

She stared at the letter again, and found the words mocking her.

_Raisingh, __Say yes. _

_Draco_.

A seal, the letters DM surrounded by two intertwined snakes, followed it. Suddenly, anger overwhelmed her and taking out her wand, she set fire to the letter and watched it turn to ashes in grim satisfaction. She could just see Draco writing it, tongue firmly in cheek. Damn him to hell, she was going to get him if it turned out to be the last thing she did, she vowed.

Beside her, Seamus shifted restlessly, and she turned to look at him with a stony face.

"So", he asked her, "Malfoy sent you a ring, huh! Can't say I'm surprised, after last nigh…"

He couldn't complete his sentence as Sia grabbed his robes from the collar and yanked him hard towards her so that his face was mere inches away. She glared at him fiercely and hissed, "That was my ring, to begin with, and he just returned it. And if you even dare to suggest anything between us, I'll Switch your tongue onto Neville's _Mimbulus mimbletonia_. Permanently. Get it?" and she gave him a little shake.

Seamus nodded dazedly, and Sia pushed him away. Anger flowed like hot lava within her and she didn't dare look at Draco again for fear that she might kill him. The nerve of the guy…first her wand, and now this! And he had the ring all along, while she was moving heaven and earth looking for it, no doubt entertaining him! Suddenly, her mind seized on a thought, and the lava within her froze. _He had the ring all along_. Which means, theres a good chance he might've tried to put it on…and if it is indeed so… a truly wicked smile spread across Sia's face and she looked at Harry who was watching her in concern.

"Eat up fast, guys…I have an account to settle, and you have a show to watch."

* * *

Sia left the great hall soon after, her head bowed, her pace quick. Draco smirked to himself as he saw her leave. That would teach Raisingh not to cross my path in future, he thought, and went back to paying as little attention to Pansy as possible while appearing interested.

After breakfast, he decided to take a walk in the cool, brisk air outside before going to Potions as there was still some time to the class. He got up from the table, and immediately Pansy followed him, unwilling to let him out of her sight. He scowled at her, but that did nothing to deter her; it rarely did.

He walked out of the double doors with her, not noticing when a spell hit him from behind, not doing anything except making his ring finger of left hand glow an eerie green for a moment. Pansy was too wrapped up in her own happiness to notice, anyway, and neither noticed a witch smile delightfully and gesture to her friends.

Suddenly, Draco's way was barred by Sia, who was smirking like a cat that has cornered the cream market. And just behind her were Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny. The other three looked remarkably upbeat about something, while Hermione looked uncomfortable. Draco knew Sia would try to get back at him somehow, and braced himself.

"Malfoy…" Sia purred, her voice silken, "I just heard…oh, that was so sweet of you to do. I'm really, really impressed." She batted her eyelashes a couple of times.

Draco was nonplussed, but knew better than to ask what she was talking about, as he was sure he would find out soon enough. He was determined not to help Sia along the way and crossed his fingers secretly. But Pansy was there to compound his problems.

"What are you talking about, Raisingh?" she asked haughtily, clinging on to Draco's arm. By now a small crowd had gathered around them, to Sia's delight.

"Oh, don't you know?" Sia gushed at her. "He's been trying to court me, and now I hear he's even got my initials branded on his finger! How sweet!"

Draco raised his hands automatically and stared in horror even as Ginny and Ron sniggered at him, and sure enough, the place where Sia's ring had burned him was now red, and the letters SMR could be discerned quite easily against his pale skin. Pansy couldn't believe her eyes.

"How sweet…" Sia continued dreamily, "but I'm afraid…totally pointless. You are just not my type, Drrraco…I'm so sorry." She purred again.

The crowd around them was whispering furiously now. Sia smiled at him kindly, whispered "See you", and left with her friends, leaving a speechless Draco behind.

* * *

While waiting for Snape to open the door to the Potions classroom, Draco was no longer lounging against the wall. He was standing erect, arms crossed on his chest, glaring coldly at Sia and wondering how best to wipe her off the face of the earth. He had Disillusioned the letters burned on his finger, but somehow everyone of his classmates knew what was there and continued to shoot glances at him.

It wasn't just the fact that she had pulled this stunt on him; he had fully expected her to retaliate after humbling her twice. It was the fact that now he had her initials branded on his otherwise flawless skin, and there was nothing he could do about it. Now he would have to keep repeating the Disillusionment charm whenever it wore off for the rest of his life. And what would his father have to say about that if he came to know!

Sia stood right opposite him, almost mirroring his posture, looking back steadily at him with a small smirk on her face. He had literally brought it upon himself this time, she mused. Her charmed ring had burned him with her initials, and all it had taken was for her to lift the Concealment charm that revealed it. Maybe that would teach him to respect not just her, but her belongings as well.

Just then, Pansy arrived, her eyes red and her face a bit blotchy. Evidently, she had been crying her eyes out over Draco's supposed duplicity. The moment she saw Draco and Sia gazing at each other, she lost it.

"You!" she screamed wildly, running at Sia as though to claw her eyes out. Sia saw her coming and hit her with a whispered spell. Pansy stopped, confused; she had felt the spell hit her, but apart from a burning sensation in her throat, it had done nothing. Deciding that Sia had gone wrong with her spell, she started for her again, opening her mouth to mock her, but all that came out was a bark.

Pansy froze. Everyone looked at her in surprise. She took a deep breath and tried to say "Draco", but again, all that came out was 'woof woof'. She clapped her hands to her mouth in horror, tears starting to roll down her face, and turned to run away, but Draco stepped forward and pulled her to him. He took her face in his hands and tried to steady her even as the rest of the students fell apart laughing.

The Slytherins gathered round her, several of them pulling out their wands, muttering _Finite Incantatem_, but everytime Pansy tried to speak, she would bark.

Sia looked on in cruel amusement as the Slytherins tried to mollify Pansy. She continued to howl in Draco's arms till Snape opened the door, scowling at the commotion. Immediately, all the Slytherins started speaking at once, and Snape held up his hand and pointed to Draco.

Draco looked up at Sia, who was still smirking, and turned his gaze away, saying nothing. But Pansy rushed forward to Snape from his arms.

"Professor, professor! Please help me…I'm barking!" she howled, and the rest of the students burst into laughter once again as the Slytherins looked surprised. Snape glared around, and again there was silence.

"Barking!" he sneered at Pansy, his lip curling a little. "As in barking mad, Miss Parkinson?"

Pansy looked shocked, as she realized that she was no longer barking, and was lost for words.

"Enter!" was all Snape offered.

* * *

"How did you do it, Raisingh? More importantly, what did you do exactly?" Terry Boot asked Sia the next day as they were again standing outside Potions classroom. Draco opened his eyes and sent a frosty glare towards Boot before closing them again.

"Oh, it was just an example of Complex Spell" Sia tried to reply modestly, but couldn't quite keep the hint of pride out of her voice. "You know, a mix of two different branches of magic so that each one enhances a particular aspect of one while blunting the edge of rest."

"I'm not quite sure I follow", Boot told her, hanging onto her every word. And indeed, he was not alone as everyone, including Slytherins, wanted to know what exactly Sia had done to Pansy.

"Well, you mix a spell from say, Transfiguration, and restrain it with a Charm, so the end result, depending on what exactly you have tried to do and how well you have done it, is a combination of both. Both of them enhance the potency of the other, as well as control the power of each." Sia told him seriously.

"I've never heard of anything like that before, but sounds interesting, and pretty advanced" Boot told her, impressed.

"Well, you wouldn't have heard of it because its kind of experimental magic" Sia began carefully, refraining from adding that it was she who had done most of the experimenting; she didn't want to be thrown out of Hogwarts. "And yes, its advanced" she told him with a smirk directed at Slytherins. "Its well above the level of simpletons who don't know that _Finite Incantatem_ is used to end a single spell, not two different streams of magic let loose together." Many Slytherins frowned at her.

"So how can a Complex spell be ended then?" Michael Corner asked her interestedly.

This was a gray area, and Sia spoke slowly, weighing her words. "The easiest way to end it is by using a Spell or Charm that is much more powerful in force than the combined magic. Otherwise, the caster has to be accomplished enough to know what he or she is doing and how exactly to take it back because they alone know what spell, charm, hex or jinx they have mixed."

The Ravenclaws, and indeed everyone around, looked suitably awed. It was quite a feat getting the brainy Ravenclaws to admit to being impressed, and Sia was relieved nobody had tried to ask her if using such spells was allowed.

"So, what did you mix yesterday?" Boot asked her, smiling a little.

Sia smiled at him, thinking she might as well begin to befriend him and opened her mouth to speak, but Ron beat her to it. "Incomplete Transfiguration aimed at changing the vocal chords, combined with the Chronox Charm to make it time-bound. That's how it ended by itself" he proclaimed proudly, as though it were his handiwork, and Hermione huffed angrily beside him, her posture rigid.

Sia sighed. Hermione had been as disapproving of her 'experimental magic' as Ron had been approving, with the result that they had had a row and were now no longer speaking. Such was the intensity of their quarrel that Harry, Ginny and she herself were reduced to mere bystanders while they had shaken the dust from the ceiling of the Gryffindor tower, or maybe it was the tower itself.

"You are a very smart witch, Raisingh" Boot told her seriously. "How come you are not in Ravenclaw?" he asked her, and Draco rolled his eyes.

Sia hid the smirk she felt ready to escape her behind a smile and looked steadily into Boot's eyes. "Oh, even I need help sometimes" she told him deeply, and Draco sniggered softly as he saw Boot falling for it, hook, line and sinker. Then he laughed outright as he pictured the scene in Gryffindor common room when Romilda Vane would find out that her boyfriend had been snatched right from under her nose. He looked at Boot and shook his head; the stupid fool didn't stand a chance.

* * *

The rest of the week seemed to pass in a blur, inspite of the fact that the Gryffindors were much in news. Ron and Hermione had had a row in a corridor this time, frightening many first and second years from other houses who had never seen Gryffindors in action before. If that hadn't been enough, Romilda Vane had paid a visit to the hospital wing for calling Sia some truly filthy names, and the hook-up of Sia and Terry Boot was on everyone's lips, specially after the supposed Sia-Draco hook-up which had turned out to be just a game of one-upmanship between them.

Sia had taken a lot of care to be seen everywhere with Boot; she wanted to let Draco know that there was no possibility of anything ever developing between them. But what bothered her was that she couldn't convince herself entirely of it. She didn't really feel anything for Boot yet, though she sincerely hoped she would, one day. For the time being, he was merely a tool in helping her keep Draco at a safe distance, a means to safeguard herself from being entangled in the web of sensations that his mere proximity aroused in her. Hopefully, with Boot's help, Draco would take the hint and stay well away. She was willing to even forget about their little games, however entertaining they might be, if that meant living in peace. After all, she had already had the last word in that.

Ron and Hermione's relationship, if it could be called that, had plunged to new depths. Both were angry at what they saw as the other's stubbornness and steadfast refusal to see light. Hermione was already not speaking to Draco for slighting Ginny, and her quarrel with Ron had upset her so much that she was now continually in a bad temper. Add to that the increased workload of being the Head Girl and the extra studying for NEWTs, and everyone, Gryffindors included, were afraid of approaching her. Even Sia and Ginny were giving her a wide berth, and Harry had, for the time being, given up trying to patch things up between his best friends. He knew that the majority of their problems would disappear the day Ron decided to open his mouth about his feelings rather than to call Hermione some cruel, albeit accurate, names.

Friday morning after Potions, they had a couple of periods off, and Harry and Sia were taking advantage of the temporary reprieve by laughing their heads off on Ron-Hermione fracas. Both of them were wondering when Ron would come to his senses and put Hermione out of her bad temper that had already seen two detentions that morning to two hapless souls. Hermione was most probably in the library, or her Head's dormitory, though neither was willing to find out exactly where, and Ron was nowhere to be seen.

Just then, the portrait hole opened and Ginny entered, and frowned as she saw Sia being quite cozy with Harry. As she made her way over to them, Harry turned to smile at her. She smiled back and was about to kiss him when he suddenly jumped up with a yelp.

"What happened?" Sia asked him.

"I almost forgot…I had to go see Dumbledore. See you in a bit, then. Bye Gin." And he disappeared through the portrait.

Ginny stared after him, a bit dazed at his rather hurried departure, and turned to Sia, who had stood up as well.

"I almost forgot too, I'd said I'd meet Terry. See you later, then." And she was gone too.

Ginny stared at the portrait hole for a few moments, her mind in turmoil. It always bothered her to watch Sia with Harry. True, her mind had been put to a bit of rest ever since Sia had suddenly discovered a lot of affection for Terry Boot, but the ease with which she had snared him from Romilda Vane had left her disturbed. It spoke of the undeniable attraction boys felt for her, and her utter lack of scruples. All in all, it didn't make her feel comfortable about Harry being in her company.

The portrait hole opened then, and Ron tumbled in. He looked terribly disturbed over something, and Ginny almost groaned in weariness, knowing this would be about Hermione. She decided not to ask this time, and maybe Ron would leave her alone. But Ron took the matter out of her hands by coming over to her directly.

"Hey Gin…nice day, huh?" he began awkwardly, and Ginny's senses perked up. Ron was not the type to beat about the bush with pleasantries; he plunged straight ahead.

"What happened, Ron?" she asked him quietly. "Hermione?"

He nodded miserably. "I was in the library just now and…" he began, and Ginny's eyes widened.

"You fought in the library this time? What did Madam Pince have to say to that?"

"We didn't fight" Ron told her a bit tersely. "She didn't even see me, I think. She was sitting with her usual pile of books, and there were…well, quite a few guys right behind her, all wanting to speak with her from the looks of it…"

"In her current mood? They want to commit suicide, do they?" Ginny asked wryly, but Ron seemed not to notice.

"Gin, I have to talk to her…before its too late." He was in real earnest now, and Ginny hid her smile of relief. "The only thing is…we are not even speaking right now…I don't know how…" he petered off dejectedly.

"You just need to calm down a little, Ron, and pluck up a bit of courage!" she told him bracingly, and suddenly Sia's bottle of Calming Draught swam before her eyes. She was curious why Sia was so possessive about it, and her last reaction when she had taken the bottle still rankled. Well, she was not about to disturb this time, Ginny mused, as she was probably snogging the life out of Boot somewhere, and Ron wanted to talk to Hermione. A little help was all he needed, she decided making up her mind.

* * *

Sia was standing leaning against a wall, while Terry was trying to whisper sweet nothings in her ear. The corridor wasn't deserted, Sia had seen to that, and there were several groups of girls standing about.

Sia was depressed and bored. Terry was intelligent, smart, even fairly good looking, but somehow his proximity didn't do anything for her. He made witty jokes and kept the conversation flowing smoothly, and yet his breath didn't tingle her senses, his eyes didn't drown her, his scent didn't enthrall her. He was pleasant, but he didn't electrify her. Sia didn't want to compare him to Draco, but it was kind of inevitable, she thought sadly. It was like floating in a paddle pool after being tossed around in the rough seas. Safe. Tame. And boring.

Just as Sia was wondering how best to make her escape when there was a considerable time to their next class, a frisson of excitement seemed to pass through the various groups of girls around them. Sia turned her head slightly to see what was going on, and was rewarded with the sight of Draco Malfoy striding down the corridor towards them. His robes were undone, billowing behind him, and his athletic form clad in Hogwarts uniform was open to scrutiny. The Head Boy badge winked saucily as he walked, and his hair were attractively windswept. The way he wore it, anyone might be forgiven for thinking the Hogwarts uniform was way too sexy for school kids. Was it him, or was it just her, Sia wondered. But oohs aahs and giggles coming from around them assured her it wasn't just her.

"He's very popular among the girls", a voice whispered in her ear and Sia nearly jumped out of her skin. She took a couple of deep breaths before turning to Terry.

"Is he?" she tried to sound bored while her insides were dancing to an incessant drumbeat.

"Hmm" Terry murmured, breathing in the scent of fresh peaches that seemed to come from her hair.

"Inspite of being a Slytherin? Some girls have strange tastes, I must say." She managed to sound disdainful, although the words felt foreign to her tongue.

"Slytherin?" Terry looked at her in surprise. "I didn't know Vance Jamison of the Dead Vibes was a Slytherin! Where did you read that?"

Vance Jamison of the Dead Vibes! Who the heck is he, Sia wondered. Some singer, most likely, as Terry was very interested in music. But it would certainly be beneficial to pay attention to what was being said to her in future, she thought. And then, Draco was upon them.

"Boot," he said brusquely after a curt nod to Sia, who suddenly felt empty. But wasn't this the way she wanted things between them! She tried not to feel bad about it, but now she felt even more depressed.

"Theres a Ravenclaw up at the Astronomy tower, threatening to jump, I've heard. You might want to check it out before the news reaches Granger." He told Terry casually, as though people threatening to commit suicide that way were everyday occurrence.

Terry was as stumped as Sia was aghast.

"What?!!!" they both blurted out at the same moment.

"Hmmm…I've heard he's quite upset over his girlfriend cheating on him or something…" Draco replied, brushing off an imaginary speck of dirt from his sleeve. "Seems she had a thing for another guy all along and then one day…" Draco shrugged his shoulders elegantly. "Granger might have plenty to say about the whole thing if the news reaches her, so I thought I'd better warn you first."

"Why…thanks. I'll just have a look." Terry was totally thrown off by Draco's gesture. But then he turned to Sia urgently. "Sia…I'll just be back…" but Sia held up her hand.

"Don't worry about it…and hurry up before…you know…" she trailed off, not daring to voice her thoughts. She was shaken by Draco's news.

Terry nodded gravely and left in a hurry. Sia was in a daze, her mind far off, when Draco's voice brought her back to reality.

"Congratulations," he said quietly. Sia looked up at him, confused. "You wanted to date Boot, and now you've got him" he elaborated.

Sia stared at him perplexedly. How could he make jokes at a time like this!

"Shouldn't you be there…you are the Head Boy, for Merlin's sake!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, don't worry about it." Draco told her lightly, "The boy's not going to jump right now."

"How can you be so sure?" Sia goggled at him. "Were you telling the truth or is it some sick joke of yours?"

"I hope, for Boot's sake, that it turns out to be a joke" he said cryptically. Sia stared at him, and he continued, "He doesn't know it, of course, but I just told him his future."

Sia's eyes widened as his meaning sank in, and then narrowed in anger.

"How can you speak of such serious things in jest? You don't value life, do you? Its all a game for you…" she would have gone on, but Draco spoke over her.

"It's a game for you, not for me. I might've exaggerated things a bit, but aren't you doing exactly what I told Boot? We both know you don't really feel anything for the poor sod, and the only reason we're standing two feet apart is that I choose not to close that distance." He finished in an annoyingly superior tone, and Sia was riled.

"Why are you wasting your time here studying for NEWTs when you already hold a Degree in Conceit?" she asked bitingly. "The reason we're not together is that _I_ choose not to associate with you, and now I see it was a wise decision. You are sick." She told him, eyes flashing, and marched off.

Sia's head was pounding in anger. How could he make jokes like that? Didn't he realize such things could mean life and death for someone! Coming from a family of deatheaters, death was probably just a joke for him, she seethed, stomping violently down a deserted corridor without a thought to where she was going. Or maybe, he just didn't realize what he was talking about…after all, he had never seen what she had, and the thought suddenly made her want to throw up. She stopped and leaned against the wall for support, feeling dizzy. She closed her eyes, thinking back…she had vowed to herself not to think about it, ever, but found herself remembering…

A shadow fell across her face and she blinked her eyes open in alarm, then relaxed as she saw Ron. She felt almost giddy with relief that he had rescued her from her own thoughts.

"Hey Ron," she tried to smile, "Where have you been all morning? We didn't see you after Potions!"

Ron stared at her fixedly. "Oh, just here and there" he said vaguely. "Sia, listen, I want to talk to you. Now. Its urgent."

Sia really smiled this time at the earnestness in his voice. Obviously, they were going to have a little discussion concerning Hermione, she thought. About time!

"Sure" she replied, and he gestured to an empty classroom behind her. Sia walked into it and he followed her, and Sia had to stifle a laugh when he locked the door behind him, tickled by his need for secrecy.

She sat down on a dusty desk after Scourgifying it, and Ron's eyes followed her movement. She waited for him to begin, but he continued to stare.

"So," Sia began, feeling he wasn't really going to start talking soon, "we're going to talk about HG, right?"

"No", pat came his reply, and Sia raised her eyebrows.

"Still in denial, are we? But Ron, everyone knows what you two feel about each other, and just because you've had a fight is no reason to…"

"I told you, this is not about Hermione" Ron spoke over her forcefully, and Sia grew silent, slightly irritated at his stubbornness.

Silence began to fester between them, as Sia scowled at him and he continued to stare. Finally, when Sia, bored out of her mind, was examining her nails, he spoke up from right above her, startling her by his sudden proximity and his choice of words.

"Sia…you are so beautiful." It was a rather bland statement, and Sia stared at him.

"Did HG hit you over the head, or just Confund you?" she asked, piqued. She had received many compliments before this, but none had sounded like a weather report.

"I'm serious, Sia. You are very beautiful…very lovely…irresistible, almost." He murmured almost to himself, and Sia was unsure whether she had heard the last part right. "And stop mentioning Hermione." He spoke very loudly suddenly, making Sia flinch.

"Ron…" she began, looking at him curiously now, a small alarm beginning to ring in her head, "are you alright? You look a bit…strange."

"Is it strange to love you?" he asked her, holding her head in his hands, gazing intently into her eyes, and Sia was so surprised she jumped up from the desk, dislodging his hands and pushing him slightly away from her.

"Ron! What is the meaning of this funny business? If it's a joke, it has gone far enough!" Sia thundered at him and turned to walk to the door, and the next instant, one side of her face exploded in pain as Ron whacked her hard across the face. Dazed, she raised her hand to her cheek and spat out blood, staring at Ron stupidly.

"Funny? Do you find my love funny?" Ron asked her quietly, and there was a sinister note in his voice that sent a chill down Sia's spine. She slowly backed away from him and surreptitiously took out her wand, holding her burning cheek with one hand.

"Ron! Whats happened to you?" she asked quietly, trying to keep the note of panic from her voice and ignore the pain that stung her cheek.

Ron ignored her. "Who do you think is not funny? Terry Boot? Draco Malfoy? Harry Potter?" he asked in the same quiet voice, advancing on her.

Sia felt the desk she had sat on earlier behind her, and tried to skirt it, but Ron suddenly leaped on her, surprising her with his agility. As he collided with her, Sia fell back on the desk, and it toppled over with a crash, taking them both. Sia's head hit the ground hard and she was dazed for a few seconds, and Ron took this opportunity to clamber over her.

As though in a haze, Sia noticed that he was trying to kiss her, and revulsion erupted within her with a tempestuous force. In a reflex action, she gathered her knees to her and kicked out with all her might, and Ron was flung off from her violently with a cry of pain as he landed hard on a pile of unused desks in a corner. Sia took the opportunity to get up and look for her wand, which had been knocked out from her hands when she fell. Finding it, she turned to point it at Ron, expecting him to be lying winded after his fall, but froze in shock as she saw Ron standing before the pile of broken and toppled desks, looking a little worse for wear, but smiling at her almost genially, his wand pointing at her.

A spasm of fear went through Sia as she stared at him and his wand; she had never got the better of him in a duel even in a classroom, and that was when he wasn't trying to hurt her. But this was a different Ron, a deadly, sinister Ron, or maybe someone pretending to be Ron. Her eyes flitted to the door…there was no way she could make it out of the door without him getting to her first, and then she remembered that he had locked the door. He was standing out of the range of her kicks, and she was standing in a place where there was nothing nearby that she could use to launch herself at him, nothing that she could even throw at him to distract him. And he was much faster than she had ever seen him. Sia took a deep breath to calm herself.

As Sia calculated her chances, she saw quite clearly that they were very bad, but she braced herself for a fight nonetheless. All it would take is a slight mistake on his part, and she would pack him off to the Hospital Wing in no time. Maybe a little talk would distract him.

"Ron" she began in a calm voice, "What has happened to you? Why are you doing this? You like HG, remember?" Ron continued to smile at her, his wand pointing at her, his eyes alert. "Did you meet someone today, perhaps?" she suggested carefully, hoping to get a clue as to who had hexed him, if this person was indeed Ron. He ignored that. Sia felt a pang of fear travel down her spine…this Ron was much too focused, much too clever to fall for her ruse. "Ron, have you considered what Harry would think about this?" she asked in some desperation, hoping to get a response out of him.

"I don't need Harry's permission to go for what I want, Sia…and I want you, any which way." He told her quietly, still smiling his genial smile which, coupled with his words and her situation, was starting to look quite sinister. Sia gulped involuntarily, and knew there was only one way out.

"_Stupefy_!" she yelled suddenly, but Ron blocked her spell almost casually, smiling even more widely now. Sia panicked and threw one spell after another at him in quick succession, till he was forced to use the Shield charm. Now his smile was gone, and his face was contorted by an ugly sneer that was so unlike Ron that Sia was almost convinced he was someone else.

"You want to play rough, do you, my love?" he snarled, and Sia flinched at his words, "well then, rough is what you're going to get."

With that, in one swift motion he ended the Shield charm and Disarmed her, and Sia slipped off her robe to get ready for a dirty fight.

Ron seemed to find her gesture amusing, as he burst into laughter and pointing his wand at her discarded robe, set fire to it.

Sia forced her mind away from it and looked steadily at Ron, ready for whatever he threw at her. As Ron started raining spells at her, she concentrated on avoiding them, aiming to get close enough to him to knock his wand off him.

It seemed to work, as she got closer to Ron while avoiding his spells, close enough to lash out a well-aimed kick at his groin, but as she swung her leg, Ron was no longer there. Moving with surprising quickness, Ron anticipated her attack and side stepped her. Sia kicked at him again, but this time he caught her leg in mid-action and pushed her roughly away, and Sia crashed into a desk painfully.

Before she could recover, Ron hauled her up by her hair making her cry out in pain and threw her onto a couple of desks, and Sia saw stars swim in front of her eyes. She tried to raise herself, but Ron again grabbed a handful of her hair and banged her head against the desk before turning her over. She felt something sticky slide down her face, and realized with a pang that it would be her blood. Rage pulsed within her, and as she dimly saw Ron draw closer to her, she summoned every ounce of her will and strength and slapped him hard. Ron staggered a bit, and Sia kicked at his groin again, but this time her aim was bad and her kick lacked its usual power. Ron took her kick on his knee and fell forward towards her. Sia anticipated his fall and wanted to move away, but her battered body refused to obey her and Ron fell on her like a ton of bricks, knocking her breath out of her.

He lay quietly for a few moments, and Sia began to think that maybe he had passed out, but then he raised his head to peer into her face, and the expression in his blue eyes chilled her to the bone. Slowly, as though he had all the time in the world, Ron raised his wand and pressed it sharply against her chin, then whispered, "Just so you don't claw at me again, kitten", and just as she opened her mouth to scream, a purple jet of light went through her, paralyzing her.

Then Ron went berserk. It seemed as though he had been waiting to get hold of her so he could punish her for daring to reject his advances. He chewed her lips in a cruel mockery of a kiss, and pressed his finger almost gleefully into every wound he had just given her, watching her eyes water with pain with a twinkle in his eyes. Sia felt every bit of the pain he was inflicting on her, but could do nothing about it. Helpless, she tried to close her mind to what was happening to her, trying to concentrate on how to stop him. She started by thinking about the spell he had put her under; she could blink, she could open and close her mouth, her body wasn't stiff, so it wasn't the Full Body Bind. She couldn't speak, however, or move any other part of her body. Sia tried to think clearly as Ron hauled her up again by her hair, bringing fresh tears to her eyes, and propped her up by a wall. Her feet could support her weight, she found. She had never heard about such a spell…what was it!

And then with a blinding flash, it came to her. It was a Complex Spell, no wonder she couldn't place it. But she didn't know Ron could cast it…she hadn't taught him how, and he wasn't ingenious enough to figure it out on his own. Then how…unless…unless…and Sia knew then that she was gone. He had drunk the potion!

Tears ran down Sia's face as Ron kissed her mercilessly, sucking on her blood as though it was his only sustenance, holding her so hard she knew she'd be bruised for weeks. Why hadn't she thrown the bloody bottle away the day she had seen it in Ginny's hand! Hermione's face suddenly swam before her eyes, passionate in its indignation over Sia's 'experimental magic'. You were right, HG, she wanted to cry out, where are you now! But Hermione didn't know where she was, otherwise she would've come for her, Sia knew. And if she did come here, what would she see? Ron was no longer himself, but would she ever be able to forget what she saw? Forgive him? Forget that, would she even be able to believe what she saw? Would Harry believe it if he saw?

Oh, Harry, Sia thought, tears mingling with blood in her mouth as Ron ripped open her shirt, tearing it way from her. Harry, where are you, she cried silently. Harry would be able to find her, she thought suddenly, he had the Marauders' map! But Harry was with Dumbledore, he wouldn't even look at the map now, and her heart sank again. Ginny, Terry, anyone…would anyone bother to look for her, or for Ron even? And even if they did, she knew that before they got over the shock of seeing Ron in his sinister avatar, Ron would hex them, and get back to her.

Ron stepped away from her, looking down intently at her, as though he found her bruised, bloody face fascinating, and kissed her tenderly on the forehead. Please stop it Ron, she begged him silently with her eyes, you'll hate yourself when you come to your senses. But even if he could've heard her, he wouldn't have cared, Sia knew.

"If you'd listened to me, darling, none of this would've happened," he told her, the quietness in his voice in stark contrast to the violence of his actions, "but maybe you like getting hurt, do you? I won't disappoint you then", he said, and Sia nearly fainted as he enveloped her head in his arms, his hug promising even more violence. And then he again dove for her lips, his arms on both sides of her face.

Just then, the door swung open with a crash, and Sia's heart leaped. Ron turned his head towards the door, and Sia heard a familiar voice, "Oh, I'm sorry. Do carry on." And before the door shut again, from the thin crack between Ron's head and his arm, Sia saw a glimpse of platinum blond hair disappearing from view.

Malfoy, she wanted to scream…come back, _please come back!_ But all she heard was the sound of his receding footsteps before the sound stopped altogether. Sia would've shrieked in despair if she could've. The only person she knew who would've hexed Ron first and asked questions later was walking away from her, thinking she was snogging Ron! Tears of rage, frustration, humiliation and pain continued to pour down her face as Ron returned to her.

"Annoying little ferret, isn't he, love?" he asked her lovingly, running a finger down her swollen cheek. "But I think you find him attractive, as do many girls here." His finger stopped at her neck, and he loosely looped his entire hand round it. He gazed at her intently with his clear blue eyes, and suddenly, Sia was reminded of another pair of blue eyes, with a blue so pale it was almost white. Was that why she was being punished like this, she wondered miserably. Hadn't she been punished enough? Evidently not, as Ron's gaze suddenly hardened and he tightened his fingers round her throat. "Who else do you find attractive, Sia, tell me!" he hissed venomously. "Terry Boot? that filthy Ravenclaw who thinks he's so smart! Or the sacred Harry Potter, who likes pawing my sister? You won't think him so holy if you knew what he does to her, you know. But Sia…nobody will touch you like this…not ever…I'll show you how much love can hurt."

And then his hands were everywhere, all over her, and Sia wanted to throw up. He bit her on her neck, her shoulders, her arms, her ears, and then his fingers traveled lower to hitch up her skirt and pinch her thighs. Sia felt a nauseating wave of revulsion and panic go through her. She wanted to press her legs together tightly, but the spell left her with no control over her body. Ron grasped one thigh in his hand and jerked it away from the other, making more room for his hand. Sia felt violated as his hand hooked onto the waistband of her panties and tore the lacy garment off of her. She wanted to scream at the top of her voice for help, for anyone, but it was useless.

Ron unzipped his pants, making his intentions clear, and Sia's mind suddenly conjured the picture of a man; a tall, dark man, with dark, wavy hair, piercing hazel eyes conveying a steely resolve. If he had been here, he would've killed Ron with bare hands, she knew. Father…please save me, she begged silently…but he was far away, and he didn't even know…nobody knew, Sia thought in despair as Ron pushed her to the floor roughly and clambered over her.

**A/N: A lot of you have concerns that this story doesn't look like a DMHG story at all, or want to know when Dramione stuff will come up! All I can say is, its a very long story and it will turn into a DMHG story at some point. Draco has been brought up with the belief that muggles are inferior beings and muggleborns are mudbloods, and he can't change his beliefs at the drop of a hat just because he thinks Hermione is pretty and they share a dormitory. Similarly, Hermione, who has only known the bad side of Draco till now, can't abandon the boy she has had a crush on since her fourth year for an arrogant elitist. They have started accepting each other as someone more than what they originally thought, but realistically, it will take some more time for them to want to fall in each others' arms. But be warned, this is not a regular Dramione in any sense. Hope that satisfies everyone. Please review.**


End file.
